Questions, God's Invitations

At church this morning the Young Adult pastor spoke on the importance of studying Scripture. He pointed out that reading the Word invokes tons of questions. He went so far as to say that if when we read the Bible we don’t have questions, we’re not really reading it. I couldn’t agree more.

In another blog entry (“Transforming Questions” October 2008), I wrote on this very topic. Questions, I'm beginning to see, are like invitations from Christ. He invites us on a journey of seeking and finding, where we seek answers and find Him. For if we never wonder, we never pursue.

So what are some questions you have? Maybe God is calling you to an exploration, an adventure to come and investigate, to search and find the treasures of His heart. Let us brave the mystery and courageously walk forward and open the Word. May we not fear the confusion or the frustration. Instead may we hope that we will find what we seek.

My invitations:
Why faith?
How does the Spirit operate? What does it mean to walk by the Spirit?
Why did God give the laws He gave in the Mosaic Law? Wouldn't we have known we were sinners apart from these rules?
What does sin look like to God?
Why does God permit such suffering in the world? Is witnessing His glory through painful circumstances (e.g. blind man since birth story in John; enduring earth until Christ’s return) really that much better than not having any pain in the first place?
What did Jesus feel on the cross?
How do God’s sovereignty and humanity’s liberty coincide?

Transforming Questions

Recently I read Sue Monk Kidd’s When the Heart Waits. In this book she discusses the importance of creatively waiting in dark, painful times, so that a transformed life will eventually come forth, much like a cocoon gives birth to a butterfly. In particular, she mentions the artistic usefulness of questions, of allowing ourselves the freedom to ask and to ponder.

I find this thought liberating. I have what seems like a million questions that I tend to run from. I get bogged down in the unknown. I don’t like feeling lost, confused, helpless. Existential questions remind me of my limited understanding as a human being in God’s created universe.

I agree with Kidd that the notion of asking questions is central in our transformation. Questions prompt seeking and seeking leads to discovery and discovery reveals God. Jesus put it this way, “Seek and you shall find.”

But there is something vulnerable in asking questions. We must admit that we do not know it all, that we need another to help us make sense of ourselves, of our lives, and the life we encounter. We seek out of weakness, out of human frailty, out of God-ordained dependency.

Maybe then we shouldn’t let our questions hinder us. Perhaps they are clues along the road, leading us to the ultimate prize, directing us toward heaven, guiding us to the arms of God.

While seeking can be frightening, it’s worth the risk. Once we release ourselves to the journey we feel freer, purposeful, more ourselves. And if we seek, we shall find. When we discover Him, His light will bring our hearts hope, peace, new life. Though we encounter Him on this life's journey, the reality remains that the cocoon of earth will veil our eyes until the day Christ calls us forth to into His presence once for always, where forever we will receive knowledge, understanding, discovery.


Clues for the journey:
What does it mean to live, to truly live?
What is the abundant life of which Christ speaks?
How do I walk by the Spirit?
What does He expect of me, one made of dust with a heart bent on rebellion against Him?
Does He know the struggle of sin that rages on in my heart?
Does He expect me to struggle?
Is He okay with the struggle?
What does God feel?