Only Passionately Curious

Albert Eistein is quoted to have said, "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."

Only passionately curious. 

Many of us scoff when we read such a statement. After all, if a little curiosity and some passion is all it took to make world-changing scientific discoveries, then wouldn't there be a lot more Einsteins? Perhaps.

Or perhaps not.
This world has a way of slowly sifting away my passionate nature. Slowly but surely, the constant pressure to get good grades, be a good student, and finish all my homework forces me to become task/achievement oriented. I no longer see the beauty of a cell; I merely see a diagram to memorize. I am no longer excited by the chemistry of life; I merely write it on a flashcard. The irony is, the less passion I have the worse I seem to do in the class.

But God designed us for passion.

My first week of college I discovered I had an insane professor. I began very much a skeptic of his unusual style of teaching; it was all "learn through story," "the hermeneutical spiral," and "Dr. Pepper." (If you want to learn why, you can visit his blog www.robertmilliman.com) The only reason I did not drop his class was that he made me want to defend myself...I was passionately sure he was nuts. At first, it was merely passion to win - to prove him and all his nonsensical ideas wrong. But that began to change.

"Conscience, turned tyrant, held passion by the throat...and swore that with that arm of iron he would thrust her down..."

My conscience bade passion be curbed by my faith and so, through the work of the holy spirit, she was. I ceased to be passionate beceause of my pride. Mr. Milliman taught me to love a subject again--to sit in awe of what God has created and allow my soul to be stirred by the passion therein. I never skip the reading for his class - I never wanted to skip - I did un-required work outside of class because it excited me. Passion was driving the very processes that seemed to be tearing me down in other classes. I will be taking Greek from Mr. Milliman next year, not because I need to, but because I really want to take another class from him. Naturally, I will learn the subject content, but not merely that. Mr. Milliman, through his excellent teaching, incites a desire to actually appreciate, value, and be excited about the subject.

So back to Einstein.

I didn't get a perfect SAT score. I wasn't a National Merit Scholarship recipient. I got a B- on my last Chemistry test. But when you ask me about autism, I could tell you facts ranging from its history to how to diagnose it. If you give me a problem to analyze, I will work until I've solved it. If I see a need, I try to discover how to fill it. Perhaps I'll never be Einstein, but I am certain that whatever I do in this life, I will try to do it to the very best of my abilities. Where passion - not obligation - spurs to action, inspiration, perseverance, and excellence are often the result. Even if I never make any ground-breaking discoveries - never change the course of history or get my name written in a book, I will work to change the lives of the people I serve. If I can offer free Occupational Therapy to a family in need, share the gospel with someone who hasn't heard it, or adopt a child out of a life of poverty, then perhaps I have done all that really matters. 

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."*

So I say to you, I have no special talent. God has only made me passionately curious. And consider this: it is the same way with you. So what will you be passionately curious about?



*Micah 6:8