My dear friend said it as we came to the end of our conversation. “There’s an old saying in my country that goes like this: He who asks questions, never gets lost.” I hung up the phone and smiled. I remembered all the times I wanted to stop and ask for directions, but the one driving would have none of it. I thought of the times I refused to ask questions because I believed I already knew the answer. Then there were moments I didn’t want others to know I didn’t know.
Somehow I made it through four years of higher education without asking a professor a question, convinced I should already have the answer. It made my college years a lot harder. I certainly got lost along the way.
Two days later my friend’s proverb still hangs in my mind as I listen to my pastor’s message. The title of his sermon: Honest Questions. I sit up a little straighter in my pew and listen… really listen. Because this is the second time in three days the subject of asking questions has come up, and I’m thinking God is teaching me something. Oh, I know some will call this coincidence but not me. In my experience when I keep bumping into the same topic or idea there is something to learn.
The sermon’s main scripture highlights a time when religious leaders questioned Jesus about life after death. Only this particular group didn’t believe in life after death. The question didn’t come from curiosity or a desire to learn. It came from a dishonest place of trickery. We see this type of questioning throughout the gospels. Questions thoughtfully designed to prove Jesus is just another man claiming to be something he’s not. His answer doesn’t really matter to those asking, especially when it doesn’t bear the result they want.
At first glance, it’s easy to say I’m not like these religious leaders, but there are moments I am. There are times I’ve asked a question just to prove what I already believe I know is right. Other times, I’ve wanted to expose the wrong in someone else. It may not be my usual way now, but I see so much of it in our world today. And while the world may be unaware of the motivation behind the questions, I suddenly feel the urge to consider why I ask the questions I do. What is the motivation behind my asking?
I pray my friend won’t mind if I add a word to her saying, a word I believe makes the saying even more true.
He who asks honest questions, never gets lost.
Honest questions come from courageous, curious, humble hearts. Bold hearts with the courage to ask questions and the curiosity to listen and learn. Hearts humble enough to choose love even when the answer isn’t something we want to hear.
Dare I say, love doesn’t equal agreement, nor agreement love. Jesus didn’t base love on whether we agreed with him or not. He loved those who asked the honest questions and those who didn’t. He loved when they listened, and when they walked away. Every answer Jesus gave began with love.
I’m completely convinced in his love, we are never lost.
I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
Romans 8:38-39 MSG
In this season of gratitude, I pray your heart overflows with love and thanksgiving. May your honest questions grow you closer to God and those you love. In it all, may you discover you are found in his love, and right where you’re supposed to be.
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