Wonder-Filled Faith: Nurturing Curiosity and Trust in Our Hearts
Questions turn us all into lifelong seekers
I was anxious on the first Sunday of the new school year, because I was trying something new at church, where I work as the Director of Children and Family Ministry. The plan was to change the format of the kids’ worship service: instead of following the lesson plan and presenting the Bible story with a neat bow tied around it at the end, I was going to invite the children to share their wondering questions.
This might not seem so different to you, but most Sunday school curriculum serves up Bible stories on a platter, with a single meaning that is emphasized over and over. Usually, during discussion time, children are invited to give answers. But I was attempting to foster their biblical imaginations and get them used to asking questions that don’t necessarily have answers.
We talked about the Creation story in Genesis and I started us off with my own wondering question:
What did God’s voice sound like?
Then I opened the floor, and the kids offered up such gems as:
I wonder who made God?
I wonder why God didn’t rest a little bit every day?
I wonder why God made everything in the first place?
I loved their questions and I loved that there were no definite answers to give them for the most part. There was a time at the end of the Bible story to discuss what it all means about God and about us, but this practice of questioning is something I’d like for them to get used to.
When I grew up in Sunday school, every question needed a black-and-white answer. There was no grappling with nuance or potential meanings, even in my Christian high school’s Bible class. The problem with this is that it led me to believe that faith boiled down to believing a certain set of answers. This put me constantly on the defensive and pitted me against others—even self-professed Christians—who believed differently.
Worse still, I didn’t have any kind of intellectual humility, believing that I had already learned what I needed to know. Shying away from questions stunted my spiritual growth.
Peter Enns, professor of Biblical Studies, writes:
“Working out what we believe is worthy of serious time and effort in our lives of faith. But our pursuit of having the right beliefs and locking them up in a vault are not the center of our faith. Trust in God is. (…) As it’s used in the Bible, believing doesn’t focus on what someone believes in, but in whom one places his or her trust—namely God. Believing is a ‘who’ word.”*
As I’ve been more intentional in my role at church to help kids discover who God is, I have found my focus shifting in my own faith as well. When I read a Bible passage nowadays, I wonder what it says about who God is and what God is like. Questions and answers about God are shaped over a lifetime, and I pray that the result in my own life will lead me to a deeper and deeper trust.
Something I wrote: Fruitful and Flourishing: How to Become Firmly Rooted in God. I long for a perpetual summer, when the trees are always green and fruitful. This is true in my actual life, but it’s also true in my spiritual life as well. A vision from Ezekiel and a picture in the Psalms describe how we can have a flourishing life, rooted in God. I hope my latest piece encourages you!
Something I read and loved: This is cheating a little bit because I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m loving Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have to Heal From by
So many of us want our children to grow up with the kind of resilient faith that doesn’t end in walking away from God. I love that her approach in teaching children is based on trust rather than obedience.Something I listened to: This conversation between James Bryan Smith and Ann Voskamp on the Things Above podcast was fantastic. I especially loved what she had to say about spiritual practices.
Something I’m cooking: I love this Garlic Broccoli Stir Fry with Chickpeas. The sauce is especially delicious!
Today I’m sharing my number one most downloaded FREE resource: a mini-workbook to help you determine which top 5 values are the most important to your family. Included is a fill-in-the-blank family manifesto as well as a guide to thinking through how you are intentionally parenting to your values. Head to the free section of my website to download it! (Hit reply if you forgot the password!)
PS: I also walk groups of moms through this workbook as a workshop. Let me know if you’re local to San Deigo-ish and you’d like me to come speak to your group!
Until next time,
*From “The Sin of Certainty” p. 22 and p. 93 (emphasis his)
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