Does Wondering Help You?

A common theme lately in Kids' Church, we had an open discussion about loving your enemies ("love" meaning something you show or do that's positive). What does it mean, why is it worth mentioning, how do we do that when it's hard, etc. A thoughtful student, wheels clearly turning, asked curiously, "Does that mean we have to love Satan?" He was referring to the Bible dubbing Satan "the Enemy", so if we're supposed to love our enemies, wouldn't Satan be, like, the ultimate possibility? While I recommended against this for a few reasons, I loved his curiosity and the fact that he was really processing what this type of living would look like.

I can't help but return to this type of awe-and-wonder curiosity about many things like marriage, adulthood, art, ministry, friendship, sexuality, and the list goes on. Probably some childhood wounding, I'm usually skeptical if not put off by those who are ultra-certain or rigid about any of these areas. While I don't personally lean as far as, "How can we be sure of ANYTHING?", I do think we adults lose this childlike approach to examining the world. As the boy in class proved to me, it seems like we can experience a fresh wave of inspiration at the least, and perhaps even discover a world of conversation and depth with God.

The implications in ministry seem clear to me: asking children take-home questions instead of take-home points, making interaction with the Bible a (much) higher priority than memorizing the Bible, and defining ministry success on other terms than "certain of X worldview" (how about discovery? friendship/relationships? curiosity?). What do you think?