Matthew 7:7-12 (NLT)
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
I went through a devotional, much like you are now, and it dealt overall with the mystery of God. The author, Dr. Steve Stephens, was discussing the transforming power we experience when God answers our questions. But he went on to say, the questions themselves, and the search involved in them, is perhaps as powerful as the answer itself. I am inclined to side with him. Questions, more so than knowledge itself, are the greatest power in the world short of love. Like hitting bottom, questions help us realize that we are powerless and in need of Jesus (The Way, The Truth, The Life).
Yet, questions usually get a negative reception. As a teacher, I’m amazed by the lack of questions in the classroom at school or in the meeting room at the shelter. I’m not so naive as to believe that I’m so great a teacher that there are no questions. Rather kids (and addicts) falsely believe asking questions will blemish their reputation. It’s not cool. It makes you look foolish, slow, or stupid. This is what they believe- even when they know others don’t understand either. Sadly, what I witness in the classroom and meeting room is not the exception to the rule. Rather, people in all walks of life- especially people in recovery- tend to shun the attention shone upon anyone asking questions.
But, oh, how I long to ask question after question. And I am not alone. Warren, one of the most memorable characters to come through our program was a questioner, a seeker. He was wise enough to know that he didn’t know everything and humble enough not to care what others thought of him. During the “Faith Like Children” section in our Life Recovery Devotional one early morning, Warren stopped us mid-thought with his raspy voice, a mix of gravel and phlegm, like he’d smoked too long.
“I don’t want to interrupt or waste your time, but what in the world is this talking about? How can we be like little kids again?”
I stopped and smiled. He at first thought I was laughing at him until I said, “Another wise man once asked Jesus how a man could be born again. (See John 3). So you’re in good company.”
And so is anyone who seeks the answers, whether they find them or not.
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you perceive questions as opportunities for growth or difficulties you don’t want to deal with?
2. What does the phrase “faith like children” mean to you?
3. Would you consider yourself a “seeker”?
