Ask More Questions

We should all have more questions than answers; if not, I believe, we lose the spark of faith. If we see faith as believing in things not seen, our journey should be flooded with questions. I’m of the mind that questions spark faith, move us forward, and invite more questions. Each of us should have far more questions than we do answers. Questions give life to an never ending flow of grace.

Since the Age of Enlightenment [1685-1815] we faced a radical reorientation in our faith that feeds our current understanding of being a Follower of Christ; we focus on answers, and not questions. This reorientation centered on developing a faith that was generally “non-confrontational.” A faith that simply said, ‘This is what the answer is, don’t question, just follow along.’ Religious controversy was removed and replaced with the idea of “Follow the Corporate lin.” This meant, that religion spilled into the world of politics, which was strongly pushed in the 1950s on.

Today, people have more questions, and while they are not looking for a “corporate answer” they are seeking conversation to move them along their faith journey. In the recording of the life of Jesus, we call the Narrative of Matthew, the first followers were constantly asking questions. Because of the pollution of the Age of Enlightenment we speak of the first followers who had questions they were weak, they just did not see what was happening. This way of thinking discounts the reality that we need to ask questions. Questions help us make sense of the world around us. Being told “this is the answer” shuts down people on their search for who the Divine is, and how the Divine works in our lives. When we spout out the corporate response to a question, we turn people away from asking more questions.

Questions are so important, we see a young Jesus in the Temple asking questions, not giving answers. In the narrative written by Luke we read these words, “The next day they found him in the Temple seated among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions.” [2:46]

I think Paul said it best in his first reply to the Corinthians, “We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all.” [8:2-3]