Curiosity

Curiosity killed the cat, they say.

As a cat owner, I can see the logic. My wife and I have a tortoiseshell cat and her curiosity and personality are always on display. Any new space she can fit in, she will explore; any new toy, she will play with or unravel.

And that’s the thing with curiosity: its purpose is to further understanding.

Maybe we shouldn’t say that Curiosity killed the cat – but rather curiosity killed the cat’s ignorance.
(and maybe, for some poor felines, they met their end because of that).

Five years ago I was walking the halls of The Shelter City – a Christian youth hostel outreach  in the heart of Amsterdam’s red light district. As a staff person, our aim was to provide hospitality for all the backpackers and guests who would cross the threshold of the building’s great, wooden doorway. Each night, we would offer a Bible study, and often only one-or-two guests of the hundred plus guests would attend. Curiosity, many times, piqued interest.

It was a cool, May evening in the hostel, somewhere around seven or eight, and a colleague and I began lighting table-top candles in the hostel’s café as we asked guests if they wished to join us for the evening’s bible discussion.

We were met with polite dismissals, as many people were heading out for the night. As the crowd in the café dwindled, we gave one last try and came upon a young woman from China, and when asked, she enthusiastically agreed. The café was separated by a courtyard with a fountain, fishpond and garden. Bike racks lined the back of the building and a low hum of activity could be heard from the streets outside the hostel walls. As we walked, the young woman – who I never caught her name- told my colleague and I that she was studying philosophy in the UK and was on holiday visiting Amsterdam. She was curious about Christianity and what Christians believe as this was the basis for a lot of Western Philosophy.

As we opened the door to the lounge where we held the bible study, we entered and made coffee and set out Speculaas – a typical Dutch cookie. I don’t remember exactly our topic of discussion, but I remember we finished the discussion in about fifteen minutes. She politely listened as we read a passage from the Bible and talked about gleanings from the text. And when it came to the end, we asked if she had any questions.

She asked about the problem of good and evil-how a loving God could allow suffering. We explained that suffering is caused by sin, which is rebellion against God and His desire for us. She understood, but seemed a bit skeptical. We continued answering questions for an hour and a half – much longer of a time than was typical for a bible discussion.

Bible discussion at the Shelter always closes in prayer. When we reached the end, we asked if we could pray for her or if there was anything she wanted prayer for. Surprise overcame the young woman’s fac. “No one has ever asked to pray for me,” she replied. “I’m not a Christian, is this okay? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or feel…”

“that’s okay, we replied. “It’s just telling God whatever is on your mind or heart.”

She offered a few prayers for school, family, and classmates, and we began to pray for her.

After we finished, she turned to us, smiling.

“I think I understand it now why Christians say there is a peace that comes in Jesus…when you were praying, all I felt was peace.”

We gave her a Bible in Mandarin, and the next day she left the hostel as many others.
This was just one encounter of many, daily encounters like this at The Shelter.

Earlier, I quipped that ‘Curiosity killed the cat’s ignorance.’
I guess another way to put it is that curiosity brought about – or sought- some kind of revelation…a new piece of information which was previously unknown but now is made known.

What we do with that information, or how we respond to that information, differs of course.

But as I look at my cat playing and exploring, thank God for her curiosity – her openness to new things and ideas because of the joy it brings her.

Curiosity, so far, hasn’t killed my cat.
It’s furthered her understanding, for good or bad.

And as I encounter people who are curious as to why we believe what we believe, my hope is that whatever is revealed to them will also do the same.