Hey dad, I have a question…
It’s a mixed blessing. At a certain point in child development—and I suspect that no parent escapes this—your adorable tot will start giving you the play-by-play of every event that occurs. Not by reporting them like a supercharged sportscaster, but rather by asking why each of them is taking place. A typical example at our house: “Hey dad, why did you get up? Why did you turn off the alarm clock? Why did you need to go to the bathroom? Why are you brushing your teeth? Are you going to gargle? Why do you need your shaver? Do you want to be smooth? Why do I have to leave so you can take a shower? Do you stink?” That last one’s often more of a statement.
Usually I answer every question accurately, and when I feel particularly mischievous, I will explain the detailed biology or physics behind the answer and enjoy the blank (and temporarily silent) stare I inevitably get. And fine, I admit it, I’m definitely more stinky than smooth during that time of day. But I’ve learned one very important lesson in this: It’s not the best response to simply ignore my child’s questions or dismiss them with hurried or inaccurate answers just because it’s the path of least resistance. Even though I am often tempted to and sometimes do.
Even THEY get tired of asking why eventually!
And this rings even more true when the queries become more significant and the ramifications for the questioners become far more consequential. When it comes to God, the Bible, faith, and the hereafter, we all keep asking why, and many never seem to stop. I appreciate that. These questions often concern the trustworthiness, reliability, rationality, and goodness of God and everything he claims, and they need thorough, sensible answers (Click to tweet).
They can keep longtime believers only convinced enough of their faith to call themselves Christians, but not radically live like Jesus calls us to. They can cause those hurt by religious folks to renounce Christianity altogether. And they cause those exploring faith to dismiss Christianity because no one can seem to make any sense of it to them. Again, they need answers.
The beautiful truth is that God gives us answers—rational and refreshing ones—if we will only entertain the whys long enough to find them (Click to tweet). If we free ourselves from every constraint—emotional or theological—except for the boundaries of God’s biblical words themselves, we can take these genuine and important questions seriously and discover freeing and functional answers for all of us who never stop asking why. That is the dedicated goal of Healing Hereafter, and I invite you to come find such answers with me, free and instantly right here. It has been a most fulfilling journey so far…:)
And of course, the best of New Years to you!
