There are many differences between children and adults.
My kids lack the impulse control that I have. They struggle with critical thinking skills. And they have no concept of how much things cost.
However, I lack their curiosity. I struggle with cynicism and bitterness. And I have a much harder time with wonder and awe.
My kids have been mesmerized by ladybugs, praying mantises, rainbows, and eclipses in ways that I have not for many years. In fact, it is the wonder and awe of children that often remind me of God's character. G.K. Chesterton made the same connection when he wrote, “It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.”
This sense of wonder captured my attention as I listened to Tiffany Hudson and John Wilds’ song, “The Wonderful Blood,” recently. Air1 published an article in late 2025 that named Hudson as one of 8 women changing modern worship music. The song celebrates how Jesus’ death for us brought our salvation.
In writing the song, Hudson wanted to bring a celebratory element to a subject that is worthy of our wonder. “I feel like many songs about the blood and the cross carry a somber, reflective tone, which is needed and beautiful. But this song carries a very triumphant feeling. I just think we’ll never outgrow singing about the blood of Jesus and the sacrifice He paid for us.”
In “The Wonderful Blood,” Hudson and Wilds introduce that triumphant feeling with a sense of wonder, as well as introducing the lyrics of “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus” as part of the bridge. While the song explores a familiar area, Hudson and Wilds seek to offer something fresh and wide-eyed.
As I was listening recently, one line in the pre-chorus arrested my attention:
Isn't it wild, doesn't it make you wonder
How something so profound could be so simple
Hudson and Wilds make a remarkable observation. The cross is the most theologically dense event in human history; yet, a child can understand it. 1 Peter 1:18-19 tells us that we were redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." Precious is a word that carries weight, meaning costly beyond calculation. Nevertheless, God’s offer is simple enough for anyone to receive.
Children naturally live in paradoxes like this one. They don't need to resolve it or ask their phone about it. They just stand in front of the rainbow and let their jaw drop.
Adults want to understand before they worship. Kids worship before they understand. Somewhere along the way, most of us traded wonder for information. We learned the theology of the cross and slowly stopped being amazed by it.
Hudson and Wilds wrote this song as an invitation to return to wonder.
As I continued listening, the bridge took this wonder in an unexpected direction. "The work You did is finished." Three words, spoken by Jesus in John 19:30, are sung by Hudson and Wilds over a chord that opens up rather than closes down. Did Jesus say "it is finished" the way you'd say a hard day is finally over? Or did He say it the way a surgeon walks out of the operating room and tells the family good news? “She’s going to make it. It's done. It’s going to be okay.” The text doesn’t give us tone, but Hudson certainly makes her view clear.
Later, Hudson and Wilds sing, "And now we get to live in the wonder of the working blood."
That word live matters. God’s design for us is not that we would occasionally visit or intermittently remember what Jesus did on the cross. His design was that we would live in it! While the wonder of the cross is often felt during Holy Week, it can be the daily atmosphere of the Christian life.
So how do you get back that wide-eyed thing you've lost somewhere between Sunday School and today?
Hudson said it simply in an interview with The Christian Beat. "I just think we'll never outgrow singing about the blood of Jesus and the sacrifice He paid for us."
What if singing about the cross is a spiritual discipline disguised?
Instead of overhauling your life, what if you started with a practice that is smaller than you think? Slow down with the cross this week. Hold one in your hand. Park your car in front of one. Draw one in your journal.
Let it be wild again. Ask the question Hudson and Wilds keep asking. “Isn't it wild? Doesn't it make you wonder?”
The kids in your life already know how to wonder. They've been trying to show you. Let them teach you today.
