THE GOD WHO ASKS QUESTIONS
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." John 21:15, R.S.V.
The poet T.S. Eliot once wrote, "Oh, my soul, be prepared for the coming of the Stranger, be prepared for Him who knows how to ask questions."
A good teacher is full of questions. He keeps drawing out of his students deeper awarenesses of their own feelings and convictions. And every time he asks them a question, he is in essence telling them that he prizes hearing their values.
Jesus was constantly asking people questions. "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" (Matt. 16:13, R.S.V.). "Who do you say that I am?" (verse 15, R.S.V.). "Do you want to be healed?" (John 5:6, R.S.V.). "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" (chap. 8:10, R.S.V.).
There was a pattern in Jesus' queries. They were not merely rhetorical questions, designed to make an obvious point. Each one was designed to stimulate self-understanding within His hearers. He wanted their minds to be brought into an informed posture of trust in Him.
So often our prayers become times of frantic talking to God, as though He needed edifying. Or we are busy asking Him questions about details in our lives as though our greatest need is to have the future figured out. But if we wll discipline our souls into relevant silence in His presence, we just might hear Him asking us questions. Tender, probing, solicitous questions, designed to help us know ourselves better.
Perhaps we should often, while on our knees, express this message to God: "Father, I know that it is safe here. I know that--together-- we can face any issue. I can admit my hidden, dark resentments, my foolish fears, even my cherished sins, and know that You will deal wisely and gently with me. I give You permission to probe me with Your questions. I know that these questions will guide my understanding into the most needed areas of my life. Father, I trust You. Now show me myself!"
Some people pay psychiatrists large sums of money to guide them toward self-understanding. The psychiatrist is skilled not only in asking the right questions but also in providing a supporting, noncondemning atmosphere in which painful answers can be faced. But many have found such a trusting union with God that He Himself guides their self-understanding.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." John 21:15, R.S.V.
The poet T.S. Eliot once wrote, "Oh, my soul, be prepared for the coming of the Stranger, be prepared for Him who knows how to ask questions."
A good teacher is full of questions. He keeps drawing out of his students deeper awarenesses of their own feelings and convictions. And every time he asks them a question, he is in essence telling them that he prizes hearing their values.
Jesus was constantly asking people questions. "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" (Matt. 16:13, R.S.V.). "Who do you say that I am?" (verse 15, R.S.V.). "Do you want to be healed?" (John 5:6, R.S.V.). "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" (chap. 8:10, R.S.V.).
There was a pattern in Jesus' queries. They were not merely rhetorical questions, designed to make an obvious point. Each one was designed to stimulate self-understanding within His hearers. He wanted their minds to be brought into an informed posture of trust in Him.
So often our prayers become times of frantic talking to God, as though He needed edifying. Or we are busy asking Him questions about details in our lives as though our greatest need is to have the future figured out. But if we wll discipline our souls into relevant silence in His presence, we just might hear Him asking us questions. Tender, probing, solicitous questions, designed to help us know ourselves better.
Perhaps we should often, while on our knees, express this message to God: "Father, I know that it is safe here. I know that--together-- we can face any issue. I can admit my hidden, dark resentments, my foolish fears, even my cherished sins, and know that You will deal wisely and gently with me. I give You permission to probe me with Your questions. I know that these questions will guide my understanding into the most needed areas of my life. Father, I trust You. Now show me myself!"
Some people pay psychiatrists large sums of money to guide them toward self-understanding. The psychiatrist is skilled not only in asking the right questions but also in providing a supporting, noncondemning atmosphere in which painful answers can be faced. But many have found such a trusting union with God that He Himself guides their self-understanding.
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