The Universal Questioning
More persons than are willing to admit it live uneasily beneath a row of universal question marks about God.
Those who do not believe use their questions as defenses when, in reality, they can be open doors. Believers shudder in shame when their questions about God are discovered. Somehow the concept seems to be that no one has a right to question God. This is not God's idea!
He encourages questions.
I read recently of a woman with a devout Christian reputation who confessed her secret doubts to her minister. He laughed. "A wonderful Christian like you, Mrs. — —? Why, that's impossible!"
To my mind, he not only slapped her, he also slapped God. Probably this clergyman preaches lustily on Sunday mornings of the lengths to which God has gone to make Himself known to man. And yet, when he was faced with an honest question about God, his own inadequate understanding forced him to duck behind a platitude — even flattery, in order to evade the issue. It would have been impossible for this man to have given a more superficial or unrealistic answer to the woman whose questioning heart had brought her to him for help.
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No one is immune to the universal questioning. No one is immune to doubt. No one is all-informed about God and His ways. But anyone can begin to discover Him at any time, if that person is open and honest and willing to drop the pretense of being anything but a member of the human race with both the need and the perfect right to discover God firsthand.
The universal questioning is progressive. There are some who still ask — is God? Does He exist? Is He a personal God?
Others ask — is God a good God? Can He be a good God and still permit the world to orbit in an atmosphere of sin and suffering and pain?
Some grant the existence of God, but their question extends to a more pertinent point — can I know Him personally? And if so, how? Granted they are convinced of the existence of God, what is the next step? Is it all up to man? Or does man have to wait until some divine whim of God focuses heavenly attention on him?
Is this life on earth all? Or is there more? Do we fight for life in spite of bodies convulsed with pain because this is all there is for us? Or do we fight because the desire for eternal life is created in us?
Is God like the religious people we know? Is He as insensitive as some of His saints? Is He as smug? As remote? As dull? If He is not, what is He like?
How can man worship Someone he doesn't know? How can he place his life in the hands of Someone about whom he harbors so much doubt and uncertainty?
What of the great religions of the world? Which one is the right one? Is one of them the right one? Is religion actually the point after all?
No, it is not.
God is the point. And for all of man's earthly life, he is liable to doubts and questions. But he can begin to discover God for himself. Those who have been "set" in their
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religious beliefs for years can begin to discover Him as He really is at any time. Nothing is required but courage and honesty. No one is safe because of his doctrinal beliefs. But anyone can be safe in the hands of God.
If you are weary of clutching your taught beliefs in your hot and trembling hands, you can drop them any time and begin the adventure of discovering God for yourself.
When you do, you will find that He is holding you. You can stop clutching and rest. The God who created you is in no way dismayed or shocked at your questions. He welcomes them. He created you with an inquiring mind, and He offers Himself openly to you and welcomes your inquiries. This is a strictly personal matter between you and God. Even your present interest is His idea.
God is the only living Person who can bear complete inspection. And He lovingly invites it.
