Believer, What Is Stopping You From Being Curious and Asking Questions?
Nicodemus and Jesus
I count it a privilege having a preacher as my dad. One benefit is: I don’t have to wait for church meetings to ask questions.
I’ve had to call dad on phone, on different occasions, just to discuss things that bother my Christian beliefs.
Earlier this year, I asked dad why there is no biblical ground for the Church joining people in marriage: It wasn’t recorded that Jesus or any of the apostles officiated in joining a man to a woman.
Dad said, “Yes, it wasn’t recorded. But….”
(Let me keep his but for a future story.)
Nicodemus and Jesus
According to John’s gospel, a man named Nicodemus, “of the Pharisees…a ruler of the Jews,” once paid Jesus a night visit. (John 3:1,2 KJV)
As a Pharisee and Jewish ruler, he was well-learned in the Torah and traditions of the then-Israeli people. Yet he had questions and asked questions that Jesus even seemed to have reacted with a surprise: “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” (John 3:9, KJV)
Just to remind you: The very popular John 3:16 was in response to Mr. Nico’s question: “How can these things be?” (John 3:9, KJV)
Jesus had earlier told him that “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” At this statement, the old man wondered: “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” (John 3:4, KJV)
Jesus went on and on explaining the mystery of salvation to him.
Now, it’s more than 2020 years later, and Jesus’s recorded sayings to Mr. Nicodemus have been a message answering pertinent questions of many generations to date.
But…
- What if Nicodemus hadn’t come to Jesus by night?
- What if he had not been curious enough to ask the questions he asked — in John 3:4 and 3:9?
- What if he decided that he’ll somehow figure out answers with time?
- What if he felt he knew enough, as Pharisee and ruler of the Jews?
Who knows: We may not have had the doubt-clearing, eternal-life-giving answers from Jesus as seen in John 3:5, 3:16, and in fact, the entire John 3.
You
When you’re unsure, when there’s uncertainty bothering your faith in Christ— please, ask questions.
And if it means going by night (as Mr. Nico did), go by night.
If it means entering someone’s DM courteously or sending an email, do so — ask that question.
And, thanks to technologies such as Twitter, you can even do a poll and get to see other believers’ view on an issue.
Apart from benefitting you, the answers to your question may be the answer to somebody else’s question or even an answer to a generation or more to come (as Jesus’s answers to Nicodemus have been).
So, what questions aren’t you asking yet? And why?
