These days, at Mars Hill Graduate School, we are considering a lot of “What if” questions:
What if you truly loved your neighbor as yourself?
What if you were truly willing to enter the heartache of a fallen world?
What if you truly believed the gospel could change the world?
These are almost trick questions because, of course, those of us who are Christian are almost mandated to answer them in a positive, definitive, and quick way:
Of course I love my neighbor as myself!
Of course I’m willing to enter the heartache of a fallen world!
Of course I truly believe the gospel can change the world!
But the trick is that our lives don’t reflect our oh-so-confident response. At least mine doesn’t. And that’s why I really like these questions. They have provoked me. They have prodded me. They have haunted me. They have prompted even more questions. All this is good.
I wonder if Jesus’ parables didn’t strike a similar chord. There was a sense in which they mandated an answer in a positive, definitive, and quick way – particularly by those who were in religious leadership and power. But they weren’t quite that cut and dried. They provoked and prodded and haunted. They prompted even more questions – and still do. All this is good.
Here are some more “what if” questions:
What if we wondered anew about Jesus’ words, stories, and life?
What if we stopped assuming we understood it (for those of us who do) and began to ask some hard questions – and then some more?
I’ve a hunch that doing so will provoke, prod, and haunt me/us in ways that will prompt even more questions. All this is good.
What if I wasn’t afraid to ask questions?
What if wasn’t afraid of not getting the answers right?
What if I asked more questions of myself, others, and even God?
What if? Indeed, what if?
I think all this is good…