I Have a Question.
I don't remember a whole lot about going to Church camp as a kid but a couple things still come to mind. I remember getting a coffee can of cookies from my sister Joyce only to have them taken by our pastor's son and distributed to his friends. I recall that they did leave me the last one which was very nice. I have forgiven him of course and it was nice that God used him to help me share. I can't say for sure that I would have eaten them all myself but I think it was a definite possibility.
The other thing I remember is our cabin counselor telling us a story about Spartacus. Just to refresh you, Spartacus was a slave and a gladiator in the Roman empire who led a slave rebellion against Rome. In the end Spartacus's army of slaves was defeated and he was killed. I might never have remembered the incident except for what happened when my counselor finished his story. He concluded by saying Spartacus was killed and cut into pieces and started to answer any questions we had.
I have always had questions. Lots of questions. Don't know why. I did learn eventually that when I was in a class or some kind of training, most of my questions would be answered eventually if I would wait just wait a little. Still I would always ask questions. I really wanted to know as much as I could but of course, there would always be the occasion for my pride to be puffed up when the teacher would say, "Good Question." These days I try not to get puffed up but I believe there is always a place for a good question.
Back to my story about Spartacus. Having heard about what happened to him, I, of course, had questions. Had I given it a little thought before I spoke, I might have come up with a question that would have helped to make sure I had understood what had happened. That is not what my question did. It made my counselor mad and he rebuked me. I truly know that I was not trying to be difficult. I just had questions. And, just what was this infamous question that got me into trouble? How many pieces did Spartacus get cut into? Having researched a little because I am writing about it, I read that his body was never found. So there is no proof he was cut into pieces at all, it is just conjecture.
There you have it, I tend to over think things and often ask questions that are not important. And as you might imagine, I take this tendency into my relationship with Jesus. I find that many of the questions that I ask him are not "good questions." Unlike my counselor, Jesus is patient with me and often answers my questions but. as I have thought about this, I have come up with a couple of questions that I think he would consider good. Do I have a clean heart? Am I doing what You want me to do? Why do I think these are "good questions"? I am so glad you asked.
I think they are good questions because they will help me reach my life goal which is to live a life that honors God. To know Him and make Him known. So my definition of a good question would be a question that gets me closer to my goal. I also think the questions I ask myself reveal what my goals are. For instance, when I think about writing this blog, if my question is "How can I get more people to read by blog?", my goal would be to get more people to read my blog (Only because I want to share my wisdom with others, right?) But if my question is, "How can I make my blog interesting, thought provoking and worth the time to read?", it reveals that my main goal is to produce writing that helps others be better. "And let us think about how to stir one another up to love and good works." Hebrews 10:24 To be honest, I have asked both, but I believe the second question to be the better question.
I have never done this before but could I ask you to do a little homework? Could you think this week about the questions you ask yourself and what they say about what goals you may have? There is no right or wrong answer. But knowing what your goals are will help you know if you are working toward them or even if you want to keep them. Next time we can talk more about goals when I answer the age old question. "Which is better, iPhone or Android?"
The other thing I remember is our cabin counselor telling us a story about Spartacus. Just to refresh you, Spartacus was a slave and a gladiator in the Roman empire who led a slave rebellion against Rome. In the end Spartacus's army of slaves was defeated and he was killed. I might never have remembered the incident except for what happened when my counselor finished his story. He concluded by saying Spartacus was killed and cut into pieces and started to answer any questions we had.
Back to my story about Spartacus. Having heard about what happened to him, I, of course, had questions. Had I given it a little thought before I spoke, I might have come up with a question that would have helped to make sure I had understood what had happened. That is not what my question did. It made my counselor mad and he rebuked me. I truly know that I was not trying to be difficult. I just had questions. And, just what was this infamous question that got me into trouble? How many pieces did Spartacus get cut into? Having researched a little because I am writing about it, I read that his body was never found. So there is no proof he was cut into pieces at all, it is just conjecture.
There you have it, I tend to over think things and often ask questions that are not important. And as you might imagine, I take this tendency into my relationship with Jesus. I find that many of the questions that I ask him are not "good questions." Unlike my counselor, Jesus is patient with me and often answers my questions but. as I have thought about this, I have come up with a couple of questions that I think he would consider good. Do I have a clean heart? Am I doing what You want me to do? Why do I think these are "good questions"? I am so glad you asked.
I think they are good questions because they will help me reach my life goal which is to live a life that honors God. To know Him and make Him known. So my definition of a good question would be a question that gets me closer to my goal. I also think the questions I ask myself reveal what my goals are. For instance, when I think about writing this blog, if my question is "How can I get more people to read by blog?", my goal would be to get more people to read my blog (Only because I want to share my wisdom with others, right?) But if my question is, "How can I make my blog interesting, thought provoking and worth the time to read?", it reveals that my main goal is to produce writing that helps others be better. "And let us think about how to stir one another up to love and good works." Hebrews 10:24 To be honest, I have asked both, but I believe the second question to be the better question.
I have never done this before but could I ask you to do a little homework? Could you think this week about the questions you ask yourself and what they say about what goals you may have? There is no right or wrong answer. But knowing what your goals are will help you know if you are working toward them or even if you want to keep them. Next time we can talk more about goals when I answer the age old question. "Which is better, iPhone or Android?"
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