Lenten Devotion: 3-12-16

Saturday

March 12, 2016

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.  Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.”  When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.    Exodus 3:1-6

Thought:

In essence, Moses said, I had better go over there and take a look at this thing.  Wow, this is different.

It is said that curiosity killed the cat, but without an inquiring mind and a curious spirit, Moses might have seen the bush and taken off running, fast.  Curiosity is a gift.  It is an engine within our spirits that causes us to stop and ask “why”.  It is a way of being actively interested, of genuinely wanting to know more about something, and it makes space for an openness to the new and unfamiliar.  It sets up the groundwork for unimagined experiences of discovery, joy, and delight.

We have lost our curiosity.  We can google anything and come up with an answer.  We can YouTube how to put on makeup, polish silver, build an engine, build a bomb, or tie a shoe.  We do not need to be curious!  We can answer just about any question with the click of a key or two.

What would have happened if Moses had access to Google or Ask Jeeves (now, just Ask)?  It might not have ended so well.

Beloved, be curious.  See something that compels you to go over and take a look.  Be curious, search for something beyond what Wikipedia provides.  Be curious.  Learn.  Grow.  As we engage in this way, we will be opened to the things of God’s marvelous creation and that is, indeed, holy ground.