Good Question!!!!

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I love a good question. Don’t you? It makes you pause and think a little deeper than you did before. It can make you look at something from a new angle or make you see something you were overlooking.

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You may or may not be aware, but our scriptures are full of them. And some of these questions are particularly potent. Because while they are addressed to a particular character or audience in the story, they also carry a spiritual resonance that reaches through the pages and becomes a question that we get caught up in. Often, either a question that feels like God is also asking us, or one we too have for God.

 

Just take a few Psalms for example.​

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Psalm 8, when looking at the stars, asks, ‘What are human beings that you are mindful of them?’ This pondering question comes from the experience that many of us have had when looking at the grandeur of the universe. This feeling, as part of the human race, makes you realize how small and insignificant you are, yet at the same time, incredibly fortunate and magnificent.

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Or Psalm 121, which seems to be written in the context of something terrible looming. It states, “I lift my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord, the maker of the heaven and earth.” From a moment of desperation rises a prayerful question, a reminder that, in the end, it is only God in whom we can find our comfort.

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Then there is Psalm 22, famously quoted by Jesus on the cross. Here rises a great question of anger or confusion: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” A painful statement of this human feeling of being forgotten, crying out to God, questioning the justice of this world when left to suffer.

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That is scratching the surface. The Gospels alone have so many gems. The rich man asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter asking Jesus, “How many times should I forgive someone?” The lawyer asks Jesus to clarify, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus asks James and John, “Can you drink from the cup I am about to drink?” Jesus teaches, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Or “What does it benefit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul?” And those are just a few of the famous ones. 

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Do you see what I mean? So many great questions to explore. Frankly, way more than we will get to this summer. But I’m excited to explore a few of my favorites. I hope you can join us when you're in town. Or, as always, online.

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Be well,

Pastor Dan