30th January 3035

Children are full of questions like, ‘Are we there yet?’ ‘Why do I have to go to bed now?’ or ‘Why did my pet hamster die?’ Usually, children are asking a question because they want to know the answer to something they don’t know, but have you noticed that, throughout the Bible, God has asked questions? After man had sinned, God asked Adam, ‘Where are you?’ (Genesis 3:9). After Cain had killed Abel, God asked him the question, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ (Genesis 4:9). When Elijah was hiding in a cave God asked, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ (1 Kings 19:9).

Jesus continued to ask questions in the New Testament. To the man at the pool of Bethesda, he asked, ‘Do you want to get well?’ (John 5:6); after healing a paralysed man and knowing what the teachers of the law were thinking in their hearts he still asked ‘Why are you thinking these things?’ (Mark 2:8).

If God is omniscient, (all-knowing), why does he ask questions? If the reason is not to add to his knowledge, why does he do it? One reason why God asks questions is to help us explore the real issues of life, and for us to discover what is going on in our hearts. As in the examples quoted, God’s questions shine a light on matters which we might prefer to conceal. His questions gently uncover our privacy, not just to expose but also to heal. God quizzes us not so that we can pass a test, not to catch us out, but to call us into a closer and deeper relationship with him. God longs to develop a rich and close relationship with us, his human creation. He is eager to help us discover him, and ourselves in a deeper way. Questioning us is one way he can accomplish this.

When Jesus asked the disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ he knew what was being said about him. But Jesus wanted the disciples to search their own hearts: what did they think about him? Hence the follow-up question, “ ‘But what about you?’…‘Who do you say I am?’ ” (Matthew 16:15). He knew what the disciples thought about him, but he wanted them to think about it and speak from the heart, which Peter did, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ (v.16).  

‘Who do you say Jesus is?’ is the most important question we can ever be asked. Jesus is asking it of us now, not because he doesn’t know the answer, but because he wants us to ponder the question deep in our hearts, to acknowledge him as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, and to come into a more intimate relationship with him.

The question is, how will we respond?

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead 
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:  
wordoflife@gracecom.church