On Cultivating a Childlike Faith: Curiosity

Part of developing a child-like faith is cultivating our own sense of holy curiosity. Anyone who has spent time around young children has been on the receiving end of “why” and “what for” questions. Their fascination and curiosity about the world around them is insatiable, and we are often charmed and amused by the questions that pop into their heads. Many of the answers they are seeking can be found with a quick Google search.

But by the time children are old enough to attend Sunday school, their natural curiosity can lead to uncomfortable questions. Questions about Bible stories that don’t have neat and tidy answers. Questions about God we don’t feel qualified or prepared to answer.

One Sunday morning, I was asked to fill in at the last minute to teach the middle school Bible lesson. All I was given was a stack of Bibles and the passage to teach: Luke 2:41-52, the story of young Jesus who stayed in the temple during the Passover festival instead of following his parents home.

The students and I sat in a circle and read the verses, ending with Mary and Joseph locating Jesus after three anxiety-filled days.

“Why do you think this story is in the Bible?” I asked. The small group looked at me blankly.

“Out of all the stories they could have told about Jesus the teenager, why share this one?” The teenagers in front of me looked at me expectantly, waiting for the answer.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. We spent the rest of our time discussing our theories and what our possible answers would mean to us today.

Somewhere along the line we have become afraid of asking questions, afraid of getting curious about our faith, worried it will lead to doubt or danger. But Jesus himself welcomed questions: from his disciples asking him the meaning behind the parables, to the seeker who asked him about the greatest commandment, to the woman at the well who asked him where to find that living water.

The very nature of God—whose ways are infinitely higher than ours—invites our endless questions.

Barnabas Piper, in his book The Curious Christian, says:

“Curiosity is a hunger to know more truth so that we can show people more truth so that our world will see more of God.” He contends that curiosity is a skill and habit which we must develop and practice.

What questions can you bring to God today?

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*Feature Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash