Barnabas Piper begins The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life by highlighting the critical placement of the suffix “-ish”. Jesus bade people to come to him with faith that was childlike; the wonder and curiosity displayed when everything prompts a question, everything fascinates and excites, and we bubble over with a desire to know. Consider this contrasted with Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13:11 regarding putting aside childish things. Paul is talking about thinking, speaking, and reasoning like a child. In The Curious Christian, Piper laments that the former has been lost to us as we seek “maturity”, and wonder no longer has a place in the version we see. But maturity doesn’t (read shouldn’t) mean growing out of those aspects of childhood that Jesus embraced. Rather, instead of smothering childlike questions and wonder to make room for responsibility and adulthood Piper urges us to see that real maturity holds information and imagination in equal measure and with equal value. Indeed
Curiosity produces a proactive life rather than a reactive life.
We go on the hunt to discover rather than letting the new and strange come to us, and that is where learning and growth happen.
Beginning with Adam and Eve we see plainly that God designed humanity to be curious and creative; but their curiosity went too far and they sought to have that which wasn’t theirs to possess. Now creation is broken, you and I are broken, and so is our curiosity. But wait… how can curiosity be one of the ways that we’re made in God’s image and likeness? God knows everything, sees everything, is everywhere. There’s nothing for him to be curious about, nothing for him to discover. Piper’s answer to this question is vocation. We reflect the glory of God in our faith seeking understanding; in order to proclaim God to the world we must get to know him, and to do that we must possess a desire to learn. Christians must be curious. Godly curiosity – deeply rooted in the truth and worldview of Scripture illuminated by the Holy Spirit – equips us with discernment to see the world as it is and reflect God more as we live in it.
Piper (accurately) likens us to real-life Hobbits; we enjoy our comfortable lives and shelter from the happenings of the outside world, though we’re fascinated with tales of the goings-on “out there”, as long as – for the most part – it stays out there. But then
A wizard, as it were, knocks on our door, or a pile of dwarves devours everything in our pantry and sings a tale of a dragon. We begin to realize that our shrunken life isn’t enough to make sense of their lives and stories. We’ve heard rumor of such people and such experiences, but they were much more palatable online or “out there” where they belong.
Then there are the negative side effects of what Piper calls “uncuriosity”; binary thinking (inability to see shades of gray in an issue), missed connections (forgetting that strangers have a story too) and depleted friendships (lack of curiosity keeps acquaintances but makes it hard to have deep friendships). Curiosity is the discipline we foster that takes risks; it moves beyond the surface level small-talk to share about hopes, beliefs, and deep fears. And while curiosity makes us vulnerable, the risks often lead to great rewards.
Imagine a church, family, or work environment that encouraged a culture of curiosity. People taking the time to ask questions, and desiring deeply to understand the answers; a place where “tension and infighting would diminish because people would be curious enough to learn what others really said and really meant instead of construing meaning and creating drama or conflict”. Christian community would be a place of rich, nourishing relationships with God and others as we seek together to understand scripture with consistent curiosity and provide counsel with curious care.
And so Piper explores the question. But infinitely more than that, he implores us to rekindle in ourselves the yearning to ask questions of our own. And keep asking. Keep discovering. And use that knowledge to connect people and cultures to God’s truth so they too can see God’s glory.
The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every Part of Life will be available on 1st March 2017.
