Elmer Kline, a bakery manager in 1921, was given the job of naming the company’s new loaf of bread. As he struggled to come up with something “catchy,” he found his answer in an unlikely place. While visiting the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he stopped to watch the International Balloon Festival.

Later he described the sight of the beautiful hot-air balloons launching into the Indiana sky as one of “awe and wonderment.” The thought stuck, and he called the new product Wonder Bread. To this day, the packaging for Wonder Bread is brightened by colorful balloons.

Wonder, however, is a word that evokes something more significant than a loaf of bread or hot-air balloons. One dictionary defines wonder as “a cause of astonishment or admiration.” It’s a word that captures the experience of all the people surrounding the events of the coming of Jesus into the world—the angels, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and all the people they told. Luke said they “marveled” (2:18). For all of them, trying to understand the birth of Christ was an exercise in wonder.

As we celebrate Christmas, may we be filled with wonder at His love and His coming!  — Bill Crowder