I just finished reading a great book, titled "In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson. Based on the account in 2 Samuel 23:20-21 of a man named Benaiah who was counted among King David's "mighty men", the book recounts, among his other feats, chasing a lion into a pit on a snowy day, and killing it. The book uses that account to outline how to reinterpret the obstacles and struggles in our lives as God-ordained opportunities. There were chapters on conquering fears, embracing uncertainty, taking risks, and being willing to fail and/or look foolish, to realize our God-given potential. Fantastic book!
One chapter really spoke to me- the one that addressed the willingness to look foolish and childish to experience great breakthroughs and victories. Batterson cited a couple of fascinating studies of children. It stated that 98% of children ages 3-5 scored in the genius category for creative, out-of-the-box thinking, yet that drops to 32% by ages 8-10, then down to 10% in teenagers. By the age of 25, only 2% still score in the genius category for what he terms, "divergent thinking."
The other study was less scientific, but still fascinating. When 1st graders were asked, "How many of artists are in the room?" all would raise their hands. By 2nd grade, half the class would raise their hands. By 3rd grade, 10 out of 30 would. By middle school, only 1 or 2 would tentatively raise their hands.
Yet God didn't create us, nor did Jesus come for us, to merely forgive our sin, assure us a place in Heaven, and as Batterson puts it, "sanitize and civilize us." God created us, and Jesus came for us, to set us free to be all we were meant to be.
So much of the Bible is filled with zany stories, with zany people, who recklessly trusted God and followed His leading into zany situations. Yet we so often read the stories and get used to them, losing the child-like wonder at all God wants to reveal to us.
I think back over my life- as a child & teen, I was artistic, with folders full of sketches and drawings, and even had a HS teacher, Mrs. Brem, who brought out in me an ability to write poetry! Over the years, I gradually created less & less art, and wrote less poetry. Now, I can barely draw a stick figure, and my writing is reserved for sermons and reports. When did I begin to lose it all? And how can I begin to tap that again?
God wants us to never lose the child-like wonder of Him, His Word, His works, and His creation. And He wants us to recover our creativity, imagination, curiousity, and daring. In short, be willing to look foolish in the eyes of the world, for "God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise." (1 Corinthians 1:27)
If there is anything I want to be true of me, it is this. May I always walk and live my life in Christ with a child-like faith in Him, and a child-like wonder at the works of His hands.