Honest Questions?

You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

My friend Van had lots of questions. He held back on making a decision for Christ because he wanted to be convinced. When I and another friend, Bob, met with Van, I thought we were there to answer his questions.

“What about all the people around the world who have never heard about Jesus?” Van asked confidently.

I shared my understanding of how God judges everybody by his or her reaction to creation. Bob interrupted me and said, “You don’t really care about that question, Van. Just ask Jesus to come into your heart.”

I was immediately irritated and wondered why Bob was ignoring Van’s question. Van, however, seemed undaunted.

“How can the Bible say that the world was made in six days when science shows it has taken millions of years?” he asked.

Again, I jumped in and began answering Van’s question, and again Bob interrupted me: “Van, you don’t really care about that question, either. You are just using it to put off asking Jesus into your life.”

Much to my chagrin, this same scenario took place several times. Van would ask a question, I would start to answer, and Bob would interrupt my answers and tell Van he needed to ask Jesus into his life.

I was about to confront Bob over his interruptions when Van said, “You know, Bob, you’re right. I have been afraid to ask Jesus into my life, and I have been hiding behind these questions so I could ignore the real issue. I do need to ask Jesus into my life.”

That day I learned something very important about people’s questions, namely that they aren’t always asked for the purpose of learning more about Christ but for trying to hide their real need: Jesus himself.

Lord, help me to see past people’s questions to their need for you.