The Mosaic

Theological Curiosity -

My son is very interested in the Christian faith. He loves to read his Bible, and he’s recently become entranced with a book series by Marc Olson, his favorite of the series being The World Jesus Knew. He loves learning about 1st century life, Jewish traditions, and random facts about the world of Jesus.

There’s a page in Olson’s book with pictures of different gods and goddesses that were worshiped by the 1st century Romans. His sister, who can’t yet read, pointed to the bearded white man with a six pack and a lightning bolt in his hand and said, “That looks like God!” Before I could interject, my son said, “That actually is the exact opposite of what God looks like.”

Amazed, I said to him, “What do you think God looks like?” He said, “Well, I think he looks really weak, but he’s actually very strong. He also would never use his power for evil, so the lightning bolt tells me that’s not God. And since God isn’t male or female, he probably looks like half a woman and half a man. But, either way, he definitely looks humble. Not like this guy.”

I made eye contact with my husband across the room, and we smiled at each other. While some of his musings about God can be a little confusing, we’re committed as parents to never stifle his theological curiosity but to encourage it. Even when he says things I want to correct, I’m careful to respond in ways that encourage his own continued reflections about God.

It was such a moment of pride for me as a mother and a pastor. I desperately want my kids to be theologically curious. I grew up in a tradition that made me feel pressure to have assurance about who God is and to cut out any doubts. Ironically it stifled my curiosity about God. There wasn’t room for much musing, only certainty.

Richard Rohr once said that to say God is a mystery is not to say that God is unknowable, but that God is infinitely knowable. That’s what I want for my children as their mother, and it’s what I want for you as your pastor. My hope is to lead us in a way that makes us fall more and more in love with the mystery of God. It’s not that we can’t know anything about God, it’s that there’s always more to know about God.

My prayer for you today is that you sense a renewed curiosity about God, and you stay hungry for the mystery.

With love for all of you,
Pastor Victoria