At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:1-3
I used to think Brad Pitt was hot. Then I went to grad school. I had to take anatomy classes where I learned about all the muscles, tendons and bones from the torso up. The next time I saw a movie with a shirtless Brad Pitt, my mind responded differently. Instead of a deep sigh and a dreamy swoon, I thought, "Wow, he has well defined external intercostal muscles," snorted and pushed my glasses back up my nose.
The cost of intellectualism is high - a loss of romance, the absence of mystery, a sterile form of beauty.
Sometimes I feel like I do this to God. I am an analytical person. I like data. I am always asking, "Why?" I research what I don't understand. I construct formulas for the way He works. I make legends for what certain feelings mean. I write down how He has appeared in the past to predict which way I should look for Him coming in the future. I try to figure Him out.
Now, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to know more about God. Solomon tells us in Proverbs that blessed is the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding. But I do think that in trying to peg Him down so specifically, trying to figure out all the whys and hows and wheres and whens, I often lose some of the awe and the wonder that comes with a pure child-like faith.
I used to think Brad Pitt was hot. Then I went to grad school. I had to take anatomy classes where I learned about all the muscles, tendons and bones from the torso up. The next time I saw a movie with a shirtless Brad Pitt, my mind responded differently. Instead of a deep sigh and a dreamy swoon, I thought, "Wow, he has well defined external intercostal muscles," snorted and pushed my glasses back up my nose.
The cost of intellectualism is high - a loss of romance, the absence of mystery, a sterile form of beauty.
Sometimes I feel like I do this to God. I am an analytical person. I like data. I am always asking, "Why?" I research what I don't understand. I construct formulas for the way He works. I make legends for what certain feelings mean. I write down how He has appeared in the past to predict which way I should look for Him coming in the future. I try to figure Him out.
Now, I don't think there is anything wrong with wanting to know more about God. Solomon tells us in Proverbs that blessed is the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding. But I do think that in trying to peg Him down so specifically, trying to figure out all the whys and hows and wheres and whens, I often lose some of the awe and the wonder that comes with a pure child-like faith.
1 comment:
I love this piece Aprilham! I have never thought of it quite that literally. I especially like the part about intellectulism.
Melissa
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