What do you think of questions? Would you rather be asking the questions or be asked questions? What is it about questions that either make us beam with confidence or shutter in fear?
Our mind once challenged with a question never retreats to its previous state. Questions stir emotion because they make us think, expose gaps in our knowledge, push us to accountability, and fuel growth and development.
A few years ago my niece, Katherine, was staying with us. Nine at the time, she was going to bed, and asked my wife, “What if I need you?” My wife reminded Katherine that she was just down the hall - pointing to our bedroom. Then she asked Katherine the defining question, “Do you know which side of the bed I sleep on?” Katherine was quick to respond, “Simple, the side Uncle Jim is not on.”
When you think about what makes questions so powerful, you can easily conclude that the “right” questions uncover needs that are an essential part of life.
“Life’s greatest question will define what is important and what your reality is.”
— Doug Webster
What is life’s greatest question? To be the greatest question it must grab our attention, and have significant meaning to how we are going to live our lives. In other words it is a question that can’t be glossed over, ignored, or forgotten. It may be pushed aside, but it must be answered.
“Who do you say that I am?”
— Jesus
My dad would have turned 85 on Saturday, August 16. He wrestled with this question for a long time. His life was shaped by the tragic death of his sister, the nervous break down of his mother, surviving the coal mines of West Virginia, the death of his first wife, and military tours of duty in Saudia Arabia and Vietnam. Life experiences that made him tough, resilient, and self-reliant.
The first time I saw my dad cry was the day his mother died. The next time I saw my dad cry was the day he surrendered his life, and answered the question, “Who do you say that I am?”
“Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. You are free to choose what you surrender to but you are not free from the consequences of that choice.”
— E. Stanley Jones
A Sunday school teacher decided to have her young class memorize the 23rd Psalm, and recite it at a Sunday service. One student was particularly excited about the opportunity and practiced every day.
The big day finally came. When he stepped up to the microphone, he was overcome with nerves. He closed his eyes, and paused for a moment. Having regained his composure, he opened his eyes, looked at all the people, and began, "The Lord is my Shepherd,” and stopped. He looked down for a moment, looked up again and said, “ That's all you need to know.”
The mind once challenged with a question never retreats to its previous state. Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?”
When I recently heard this question posed as “life’s greatest question,” it certainly got my attention. Important and powerful questions create a dilemma in that by pushing them aside and not answering them, we have answered them.
On the surface, some questions are as simple as which side of the bed do you sleep on?
This simple question, “Who do you say that I am?” may be life’s greatest question.
What do you think?
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