Questions for Jesus – Devotion 1 ~ 2023
“The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” – 1 Corinthians 1:25
In my classroom I have a list titled: “Questions for Jesus.” This is a list of questions that students ask that are beyond my teacher wisdom. They range from: “Will it rain tacos when Jesus makes a new heaven and a new earth?” and “Did God take a nap when he rested on the 7th Day?” to “What happened to Elijah after the Fiery chariot.” I teach my students to ask questions, because that is how they learn and it is a job that they take seriously. Day after day I am bombarded with so many questions both funny and serious. It can really bother students, however, when there is no answer to their questions. That is where the questions for Jesus list comes in handy. My students know from an early age that this is no question too hard for Jesus, and they find comfort in adding their questions to the list.
Now how about adults? Do we still ask questions? God created us as beings full of so many thoughts and ideas and questions. However there is also the issue of sin in the world. Do we get upset when we cannot figure out an answer to our question? Or when the answer is not the one we wanted? Do we ever use our wisdom of known answers to gain power or hold over others? The answer to all of these questions is yes. In the first century the Corinthians were struggling with wisdom and questions. Some were using their wisdom to gain themselves a sense of power and authority. Some got to the point that they started to proclaim this search for wisdom over the gospel of Christ. To these people the word of the cross, the word of Christ’s death and resurrection is folly as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18. And if we really think about it and be honest with ourselves the Gospel does seem quite foolish. Why would the man who was the Savior of all the world come down to earth and be born in a manger? Why would this man eat with the sinners and the poor? And seemingly most foolish of all, why would this Son of God and savior die? The world that we live in and the earthly wisdom that we hold shows all of these things as weakness and silliness. A Savior and King of Kings should be Kingly and mighty. Our worldly wisdom can simply not comprehend it. It makes our minds stumble and become confused. And this brings me back to Kindergartners. They often seem to be stumbling and confused with the most off the wall questions you can imagine, but they find such great joy in adding those questions to the “List of Questions for Jesus.” So I challenge you today to let go of some of the questions in your life. Give them over to the seemingly foolish man who died on the cross to make it so that we never have to question our place in heaven. I am excited to see you there someday where we can ask Jesus all the questions from our lists!
