Questions?

Have you ever been asked something similar to “How can you believe in a God who, in the Old Testament, destroyed entire people groups, including innocent women and children?”

Maybe it wasn’t a question but more of a statement along the lines of “Why should I believe in a God who allowed my child to die?”

In my role as a Pastor, I often get asked questions about faith - people of all ages and stages of life, often going through anger and pain. And honestly, I have to admit that there have been times I’ve wrestled with some of the same questions.

Why is there so much pain in the world? Why do people who do bad things seem to not get caught? And on and on and on.

One of the easiest things to do as a believer when asked faith questions is to give the standard answer. You know, the one you were taught as a child. Or you heard a Pastor say from the pulpit.

I get it - God is merciful, but He is also just. Yes, in the Old Testament, He was extremely patient with the children of Israel... way more patient than I would be. But at some point, the reality is that He is a perfect God who must punish sin. David recognized his sin in 2 Samuel 24:-11-14:

Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’”

So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

It would be really easy to point out God’s patience and talk about the fact that we live in a sinful, broken world. We can explain that Jesus will return someday to put everything in order. After all, we’re living between two Edens.

Something I’ve been learning lately is that while I may have an “answer” to questions or statements about God, sometimes an answer isn’t what is needed. Too often, my answers will not satisfy and I will have lost an opportunity to see the much bigger picture of what is going on in the life of the person I’m talking to.

I love the quote by Elise Wiesel, who survived the Holocaust and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986:

“Answers divide us, questions unite us.” You may have heard it said, “When someone falls in love with the people of God, they will fall in love with God.”

I want people to fall in love with God. That means I need to be more intentional when I talk with others to stop rushing to give an answer. How about you?  Let’s take a pause and SLOW DOWN. Take time to be reflective and ask probing questions. For example, when questioned about the God of the Old Testament, say, “That is a really good question. Tell me more. Maybe we could look at some examples together.”

One of the things I learned during COVID was to be more aware and to take TIME to really listen and seek to understand what is being said (or maybe what is not being said).

When we start to ask more questions than we give answers, people will feel cared for, loved and maybe just begin to fall in love with the Jesus we love.

Pastor Pam

‍