Albert Einstein once said ‘Never lose a holy curiosity’.

As we look in the Bible at some of the most poignant encounters with God, they often spring from a place of curiosity – of wondering – of questioning.

There is a beautiful example of this in the story of the 2 friends of Jesus who were walking along the road following the death of Jesus, heading to the village of Emmaus – you can find it in Luke 24.

They are talking about all that has happened over the last few days, trying to process it all and make sense of it, when Jesus comes along and walks with them. They don’t realise it’s Jesus when He joins them- the bible tells us that they were kept from recognising Him.

And the first thing that Jesus does is to feed their curiosity by asking a question – What are you talking about? The friends can’t believe their ears – What are you talking about? How can you not know? – we’re talking about the things that EVERYONE is talking about right now!! Where have you been? (I’m paraphrasing a little here but you get the gist!!)

Again Jesus replies with a question – What things?

As a teacher, it can be so tempting, as soon as I hear a question, to jump in with an answer or an explanation but I love this approach from Jesus. By bringing curiosity and questions instead of answers, he creates a safe space that enables the friends to deepen in their sense of curiosity and wondering – and it’s from that space that he is then able to open scripture on a deeper level as He begins to share with them the wonders and truths that have been available to them all along in the writings of the prophets but that, until that moment, they’ve never really understood.

And that could have been the end of the story – and in many ways it would still have been a spiritually enriching time for the friends – a time when their eyes were opened to perceive new truths that brought peace and a deeper understanding of Jesus. But it wasn’t the end of the story because the friends are curious and press for more. As Jesus goes to leave them as they reach the village, they ‘urge him strongly’ to stay with them. They like what they have heard and are curious to know more. It is in their curiosity that they encounter Jesus. As He breaks bread with them, the story tells us that their eyes are opened and they finally recognise who it is that has been walking with them.

When I read the bible, it can feel a little like those friends, having a lovely time walking along and having my mind opened to new truths and new revelations – and how amazing is that?! When we invite Jesus into that space he can bring what we read to life. But, just like those friends, I want to remember to always press for more. Not just to settle for new understanding, but to be curious, to wonder and to seek encounter with Jesus.

How do you feel about asking questions?

Do you bring curiosity when you read the bible – pressing in for more?

My lovely husband Ali of The Resource has created a really useful resource to help us engage with what we read in the bible and bring curiosity and wonder, based on an approach called the Swedish Bible Method. You can find a free copy [here]. We’ve used this as a family before, cutting out the different questions and each taking a different one to reflect on as we read a passage together.

If you haven’t tried Lectio Divina yet, I hugely recommend it. Lectio Divina is an old pattern of prayer which encourages you to press in and bring curiosity as you read and re-read a simple bible passage. I’ve created my own simple version of it which you can find in the [Living Well resources].