Scripture:
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”
Proverbs 18:17 The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.
Matthew 16:13-15 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Matthew 22:42-46: While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Reflection:
Isidor I. Rabi, the Nobel laureate in physics was once asked, ”Why did you become a scientist, rather than a doctor or lawyer or businessman, like so many of the other kids in your neighborhood?” Isidor replied, “It was my mother who made me a scientist, though she never intended to. Every other Jewish mother in Brooklyn would ask her child after school: ‘So, did you learn anything today?’ But not my mother. She always asked me a different question. ‘Izzy, she would say, did you ask a good question today?’ The difference was that asking good questions made me become a good scientist!”
Jesus asked good questions. If you had to sum up Jesus’ communication style, it would be that he told great stories and asked good questions. In the Gospels, Jesus is quoted as asking 307 questions. He was a master at it. If we want our personal lives and our families to become more like Jesus, maybe this is one area we need to consider growing: asking careful and wise questions, both of God and of those around us.
Here are a few potent examples of some of the 307 questions Jesus asked:
- “Why do you call me good?” (Luke 18.19)
- “Can you drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” (Mark 10.35-38)
- “What do you want me to do for you?” (Luke 18.35-41)
- “What do you want?” (John 1.35-37)
- “Do you want to get well?” (John 5.6)
One of the great assumptions in church life is that we are being taught by our parents, families, communities and church leaders. Rarely, if ever do we think about actually how to be “conformed into His image.” Personally, I am going to make a commitment to intentionally ask better, if not good questions over the next month, both with God in prayer and with others. I am curious as to how it will impact all of my relationships.
Let me know if you’ve got a good question that we can ponder together!
David
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