15-5

Holy Curiosity

We learn new things everyday. Or at least we should learn new things everyday! Learning new things is part of loving God. "Loving God with all your mind means making the most of your mind by learning as much as you can about as much as you can. But the true litmus test of spiritual maturity isn't how much you know. It's knowing how much you don't know." We should be curious enough to want to keep learning, but humble enough to realize that we will never know everything. If you get to the point where you feel like you know all there is to know about God, then you will cease to be filled with wonder. "When you stop learning, you stop loving? Why? Because loving is learning more and more about the one you love. True love is never satisfied. It always wants to know more about the object of its affection." Just the other day on our way to Orlando, Abi says this to me: 'tell me something I don't already know about your childhood.' I stumbled around for awhile, but it began a conversation in which we learned things about each other we never knew before! We've been married for 5 years, and we know each other really well, but there is always something new to learn about the one you love. The more you love someone, the more you want to know about them. "The more you love God, the more curious you become. When it comes to loving God with all your mind, curiosity is both the cause and effect."

We don't often think about learning as a form of worship. But God wants us to love Him with all of our minds! That means "loving God with half your mind isn't good enough. Being half-minded is no better than being half-hearted. God wants to sanctify every part of your mind for His purposes: sanctified logic, sanctified intuition, sanctified imagination, even a sanctified sense of humor." That means that we need to love God "logically and creatively, seriously and humorously, intuitively and thoughtfully." In order to do that, we have to exercise our minds. You've heard the phrase, 'use it or lose it,' and it applies not only to your muscles but to your intellect as well! Did you know that the average college graduate reads two books a year? If you put a book in the bathroom you can read one a month! Come on man! Albert Einstein said this, "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity." Sometimes I think we are afraid to ask questions. But let me just say this: God is not intimidated by your questions. "God would much rather entertain a genuine question born out of humility than a disingenuous prayer born out of pride." We shouldn't be satisfied with easy answers! We should feel free to ask dangerous questions that require complex answers!

Albert Einstein also said this: "Science without religion is lame," and conversely, "religion without science is blind." I love that. Too often we try to separate the two and pretend that they don't get along. But if we believe that God is the God of creation, wouldn't we want to know everything we could about His creation? Don't put a limit on your studies, because the more you learn, the more you will see. "What the eye sees is determined by what the brain has learned." Let me explain it this way. As a musician, you hear music differently. You can separate all the parts and hear each instrument as it plays together to create a symphony of sound. People who aren't musicians don't hear music the same way. Why? Because they don't know about it. They don't know how it works. "Simply put: the more you know, the more you appreciate." So we could say, "how much you know may have more to do with how much you love God than you think." It is not enough to worship God, He wants to you to know why you are doing it. We need to be able to answer that question. Why do we sing the songs we sing? You see, "great is love is born out of great knowledge." "Simply put: learn more, worship more." "You cannot truly love what you do not really know. That is called ignorance. So stop and think about the implications. The less you know God, the less you love Him. And the more you know God, the more you love Him. Why? Because to know Him is to love Him. And if you don't love Him, it's because you don't really know Him."

All of that being said, we need to have a dose of critical realism within us. All that means is we have to be able to admit that we don't know everything there is to know. If we would do that, we would have a lot less arguing over things that don't really matter. Stand up for the non-negotiables. Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life. He died for our sins on the cross and was raised to life on the third day. It is time we learned to let some others things go without losing our minds arguing over things that aren't really that important. "Maybe it's time to admit that we don't know all the answers. But we know the One who does."

We are called to be disciples of Jesus. That literally means "learner." So by definition, we should never stop learning! We are always to be asking and seeking and knocking. "And the quest is never over because the questions never end." "I believe that learning glorifies God when ti's done for the right reasons. And that reason is to know Him ore so that you can love Him more. So go ahead and live as if you'll die tomorrow. But keep learning as if you'll live forever. After all, you will."

Enjoy the Journey