Holy Curiosity

In his book, Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity, Mark Batterson describes in detail what he calls “holy curiosity.” God gave us the world to subdue, to discover and understand, and by doing that, know God a little better. Our minds our His, and if we are to love Him with our minds, we need to be passionate about learning about Him and His creation.

I remember teaching my children about quasars. I had never heard of such a phenomenon before. The idea of so much power and beauty existing out there somewhere astounded me. I told the kids over and over how amazing it was that God created such incredible things—and many more wonders that we have yet to discover—for his own enjoyment. Knowing that quasars inhabit creation with us revealed new information to glorify God with.

So how do we kindle a passion to learn about God’s order in Mathematics? His creativity in science? His beauty in art? More tests won’t do it. More textbooks won’t do it. More worksheets won’t do it. All of those things are fine to a degree, but they don’t spark wonder, and that is the key to education’s true goal—knowing God.

The way to encourage holy curiosity is experience. Don’t save trips to the wildlife refuge for when you can fit it in. Make those excursions the priority. Schedule visits to the museum often. Plan opportunities to serve at a nursing home. Grow a garden. Write a play together. Feed the birds. Try a dolphin watch boat trip. Visit historical landmarks. I could go on, but you get the idea. The experiences will foster the joy in learning what the rest of your curriculum offers.

Our children will forget most of what we try to cram into them, but they will remember what they discovered for themselves.