I'll Keep Asking

Anyone who has had children or been involved with the care of children will know just how inquisitive they can be.  The why, when, where, who, how questions seem to have no end.  You think you've explained things and then they come back with another 'Why?' or 'How?'.  This is normal behaviour for children and in fact if they didn't ask questions we would think that there was something wrong with them, that they were lacking something in their concentration, normal development or desire for learning.  


When they are small, a short, simple explanation is often sufficient to answer their curiosity but as they get older, such simple answers don't suffice.  They need to know more and in more detail.  This surely is a sign that they are maturing and becoming more capable of understanding more than they did when they were younger.


It baffles me, therefore when Christians get the strange idea that the same explanations and teaching that has been given to them from their first steps of faith are still sufficient.  They listen to the same Bible verses explained over and over again.  The fact that they don't question seems to be taken as some strange form of maturity, they know all the answers.  They might have a point in thinking that they have travelled so far along the road and have experienced so much that they have indeed 'seen it all' - been there, done that, got the t-shirt etc.  But there are occasions when it is actually frowned upon to question what has been said from the platform or pulpit.  It is considered almost sacrilege to ask a question like 'Why God?'.  We must not question those 'in authority' over us.  (Sounds like some dictatorships I've known)  They are there to speak to us on God's behalf!  We are told that God has his ways and we should just trust him.  We are so often fobbed off with the usual set answers to such queries that they sort of float over the tops of our heads.  The words don't seem to connect with us.  They become almost meaningless.


Yet Jesus tells us that we must be like children in our faith.  When he said that, did he mean that we should never be complacent?  That God likes curious children?  Can we ever know all there is to know about God and spiritual things?  Can we not keep on learning while we travel on this road of faith?  Maybe I'm just not the passive sort when it comes to my faith.  So I continue to question and seek more of what God means and says and how this unfolds in my life.  I want to know God more so I persist like a small child and keep asking him to connect with my spirit so I can grow and really mature in him.  The simple answers of old aren't enough any more - I need  more God.