Curiosity

I have always asked, "Why?" or "Why not?" It can be annoying. My Mandarin teacher in Taiwan used to say, "Tchrin Un, (my Chinese name) there is no 'Why' there is only do!"  But I really like to know why.
Charlie and Caroline love to climb trees to see what they can see. Curiosity I think must be a godly trait. It drives us to explore and discover and press in to find answers.
What a surprise to find that my assumption is Biblical. While reading Exodus 3 this morning I found this passage (3:3-4) when Moses sees the burning bush. Somehow I always thought God sort of drew him to the bush, but it says, "And Moses said, 'I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.' When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush."
Moses was curious and God called to him after he took the time to explore the mystery.
When Steve was in Israel last fall he asked Ray VanderLaan about questioning the Rabbi. Ray's answer was that questions were and are fine, but first you follow. It's while you are following the Rabbi that you ask your questions, but you don't wait to get your answers before you follow. The answers come while you are walking in obedience.
So, in my interpretation; Curiosity which provokes obedience ,followed by questions as we walk and talk with God, promotes greater faith, which increases our courage to pursue the next curiosity, which ....

Moses had lots of questions, but he started his adventure with God because he was curious, he wanted to know what was going on with that bush, and then God spoke.

Those amazing logs

This is my son-in-law Richie last year, standing next to a tree stump in the Redwood forest in California. I thought of it when I was reading Matthew 7:3 "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?"
I love the drive up the coast from San Francisco heading north. Stopping for a stretch and standing next to one of these huge trees creates a sense of awe and wonder. They are huge, beautiful and amazing, and the reason I thought of them is this; they block out most of the sun.
It is dark in the Redwood forest. It's hard to see until you adjust to the little bit of light that finds it's way through the canopy of green above you.
It's like that when we try to see the faults in the life of another person. The lush canopy of our own faults, severely hampers our ability to see in order to do surgery on the target of our judgement. So, I think I will keep this picture in the back of my mind next time I rush to judgement. What, in my life, creates the shadows that make it hard to see? Maybe I need to take a few steps out into the light to look up and see what I need to work on myself first. I certainly need more light if I am going to, lovingly, remove the speck in the eye of another.

Happy 2010!

Christmas was a blast with a baby in the house. It started with Papa teaching Lucy one of the best parts of morning, the wonderful aroma of coffee.
Now the new year is already begun and I have begun again with Genesis, as promised. I noticed something a little disquieting. We have been looking forward to retiring some day, but as I read Genesis 2, two things caught my attention.
First was the comforting part. Adam and Eve didn't just wander into the garden, and it wasn't necessarily where they were when God hand crafted them. God intentionally put them in the garden and with a purpose. He planned that they would work. Work didn't come after sin was introduced; it got harder, but it was apparently always God's plan that man (and woman) work. So where did we come up with the concept of retirement? I wonder. Maybe I will keep my eyes focused to see the answer to that question as I go on this time through.
Just a heads up. Our church is switching to a new version of the Bible this year, so when I quote scripture it will be from the English Standard Version. I am learning to be compliant. We shall see how long that lasts.