Dear Christian,

God has not finished with you yet.

And he is definitely not finished with his church.

We are not yet the church that Jesus gave his life for.

Don’t get me wrong, the work that Jesus did on the cross is complete. He has victory over sin and death. But we are not yet the church that Jesus gave his life for, there is still work to be done and more to know about God.

There is more refining, healing, transforming that needs to be done.

To put it simply, we still need more Jesus.

Until we reach unity in the faith

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13

This may come as no surprise to you that we have not yet ‘attained the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.’ But dear Christian, do our actions reflect that?

We have become so good at refining church processes, like how to run services or how to welcome new visitors, that everything seemingly runs ‘well.’

But Jesus isn’t returning in search of a well-run Sunday service.

Paul is not describing a formula for how-to-run church in this scripture, but rather it is a glorious invitation for what God intended for the body of Christ to look like. The Church should look like Jesus.

It’s easy to look at other churches and point the finger at the things they aren’t doing right, or criticize the issues they are having. But we should be careful that we never get complacent or prideful, thinking that our church has it ‘right.’

Pride gets in the way of curiosity, as we become dependent on our own abilities and gifts.

Complacency is the thief of curiosity.

If we become complacent in our relationship with God, we are robbed of growing a deeper intimacy with him.

If we become complacent in our churches, we are robbed of the joy of being the church he calls us to be.

We are not seat warmers in the waiting rooms for Heaven. We have a divine and beautiful purpose to discover here on earth.

Should Christians be Curious?

When we fear curiosity, we lose the value of healthy curiosity. When your friend begins to question God’s sovereignty, or his faithfulness to keep his promises or whether he is true to his Word, do you respond with correction or curiosity?

Godly correction has it’s place, but what if we became more curious about why people ask questions like this? What if we saw it as opportunities for them to deepen and explore their understanding of who God is? What if we saw it as opportunities to know God more?

God is not afraid of hard questions.

Our generation no longer accepts truth, just because it is preached from the pulpit. Imagine if we worked to embrace the moments of questioning and doubt, and got better at journeying with one another to discover truth? Consider how much deeper our faith and theology would be if we learnt to nurture curiosity?

Just as God invited Jeremiah, call on him and listened as he tells you ‘great and mighty things, which you do not know’ (Jeremiah 33:3). There is a beauty in God being beyond our comprehension, as our human minds will never reach a point where we know everything about God. Don’t let that be a point of frustration, but rather an invitation to continually learn and discover more about our all-knowing, all-powerful, Heavenly Father.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Read more: How to Know and Hear God’s Voice

Stay Curious to Know God

The main intention of curiosity shouldn’t be greater knowledge, but deeper relationship.

Only knowing about God will never fully satisfy our curiosity, because we are designed for relationship with God. He fully loves us and calls us his children (1 John 3:1), and he fully knows us (Psalm 139) and designed us with purpose (Ephesians 2:10).

Stay curious about God, and find yourself in awe of him. Let him show you the beauty of a what a deeply personal friendship with him looks like. Your relationship with him is unique to you. The way in which you talk, listen and walk with him doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s.

He says that when we seek him with all our hearts, we will find him (Deuteronomy 4:29).

Read more: What does it mean to be fully know and fully loved by God?

Curiosity is a habit, an exercise, a mental and spiritual muscle. It is the exercise of discernment. Ultimately it is an act of worship and a deep refection of our humanity, God’s nature reflected in us. Barnabas Piper

Allow your curiosity be an act of worship. Stay curious about the scriptures, and seek to know his truth. Meditate on who he is, what he has done and who he called you to be. Like a child, let your curiosity run wild as you discover God.

It is from a place of intimate relationship with God, that we can intimately know his plans and purposes for our lives.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2

Don’t become complacent with false ideas of perfection, but hunger and seek for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). Continually find yourself in awe at the feet of Jesus.

So dear Christian, stay curious.