I
believe our daily lives to be filled with tough questions, such as “Where do we
go eat?” and “What time should I get up?”
Until recently, these questions have been daily struggles for me to make
decisions on. But what about those
questions that we don’t ask because we may not know the answer? I’m talking about the God questions: the
tough questions for God and about God. I
am embarking on a series of those tough questions because there is a group of
about 60 18-25 year olds who need to search for answers. The majority of these individuals are away
from home and at college where they are free to roam (mentally) and formulate
their own reality. I personally would
like to see that reality nest in the arms of Christ. Through prayer, scriptures, and hearing what
each person is struggling with, God has led me to these tough questions:
·
Church (the institution, not the body of
believers):
o
Why
do you go?
o
Why
do you go to the particular church / denomination that you do?
o
Why
do you believe what you believe? Just
because you have been told to?
o
What
makes your way of worship better than another?
o
Why
don’t you go somewhere else to worship?
·
Scripture:
o
Why
do you read your Bible? More
importantly, why don’t you? Or is that
more important?
o
Why
do you read a specific version of the Bible?
Do you know the differences between different versions (NIV vs. NASB)?
o
What
strategy do you take to reading the Bible?
o
Do
you need to memorize scripture?
o
How
often should you read your Bible?
·
Prayer:
o
Why
do you pray? Why don’t you pray?
o
How
often do you pray? Why?
o
Does
prayer work? If your answer is “no” or
“sometimes,” then why not all the time?
Is it our fault when God doesn’t come through?
o
Do
you have to get on your knees to show God that you mean business?
o
Why
do you keep falling asleep during your prayers at night?
o
Is
it best to pray at night or in the morning?
o
Are
you supposed to pray silently when someone is praying out loud in a group?
o
Reciting
the Lord’s Prayer is good enough, right?
·
God
is #1:
o
Why
is God not your first priority?
o
Why
is it easier to take the Lord’s name in vain before going to Him in prayer?
o
Is
it possible to make God your #1 in every situation? How so?
o
Was
the only reason Christ was able to overcome temptation in the desert because He
was also fully God? Can I ever be that
strong, or will I always follow the example of Adam and Eve and give in?
o
If
God is my #1, then He will heal everyone around me, answer every prayer, and
I’ll never struggle reading or understanding the Bible, right?
o
What
does having God #1 even mean or look like?
For a starting
list, I think this is pretty encompassing of what is going on in my brain right
now. These questions have to be explored
prior to one giving up on God, reading the scripture, and praying. I may be one man trying to tackle these
questions from week to week, but I know that through leading and teaching on
these tough questions that God has placed on my heart, that at least one person
will grow deeper in love with the One who brought us into this world… which is
what it’s all about.
One of the biggest skills I've learned in college is learning to critically think. College is the first opportunity most students get to live on their own and really see how the operate as an individual, without pressure from their home environment. Every decision you make is now up to you.
ReplyDeleteI think these questions you've posed are critical for a college student to understand. In all honesty, I think college makes or breaks your faith. And what makes your faith is to own it. You need to know why you're doing what you're doing and really analyze your relationship between God, church, your prayer life, etc.
Good stuff! I'm enjoying reading your blog :)