I think this word is victim of the cheapening of our superlatives. Good things are now great, which means great things have to be terrific and terrific things have to be wonderful. I’m simplifying, of course, as there isn’t such an exact progression. But sometimes when we say something is awesome I wonder if we really mean that the event or object has really inspired wonder and/or veneration in us, or we just mean that it was really neat. On the other hand, language was built to change, it seems, and maybe having awesome things or people in our lives does not necessarily relate to the amount of awe we can feel.
But I imagine what it would be like for a flea to be in a large cathedral, looking up at the wonderful stain glass and such. I think that if we were to be in God’s holy presence there would be a comparable experience – because we are so tiny in comparison to infinity. And yet God deigns to take notice of us and love us. It’s also like imagining that Earth in comparison to the universe is kind of like a pea in a football stadium, only more so. To think of such things just inspires me to remember that there are wonders in this world.
These thoughts are not to make us feel insignificant, but to stand in awed silence at the incredible world around us.
