Faith Big Enough for Questions - Day Five: "What Are You Looking For?"
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” — Albert Einstein
“When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’” — John 1:38
According to John's Gospel, these are the first words Jesus speaks.
And they're a question.
“What are you looking for?”
I love that.
Jesus could have begun with a declaration.
A command.
A sermon.
Instead, he asks a question.
What are you looking for?
It's a question worth sitting with.
What am I looking for?
Security?
Meaning?
Belonging?
Peace?
Purpose?
Answers?
God?
Maybe we spend too much time thinking Christianity is primarily about giving the correct answers.
Jesus seems remarkably interested in asking good questions.
“What do you want me to do for you?”
“Who do you say that I am?”
“Why are you afraid?”
“Do you want to be made well?”
“Which of these was a neighbor?”
“Do you love me?”
Jesus asks questions that invite people to look beneath the surface.
Maybe that's because questions open doors that answers sometimes close.
An answer can end a conversation.
A good question can begin one.
Over the years, some of my beliefs have changed.
Some have deepened.
Some have become more complicated.
There are things I once thought I understood that I now hold with more humility.
And there are questions I suspect I'll carry for the rest of my life.
I'm increasingly okay with that.
Because faith, at least for me, has become less about possessing all the right answers and more about trusting the One I'm following.
The disciples didn't understand everything when they began following Jesus.
They misunderstood him constantly.
But they kept walking.
Maybe that's what matters.
At the beginning of this week, we asked whether faith could survive our questions.
Maybe that's the wrong question.
Perhaps our questions are part of how faith grows.
They make us search.
They make us listen.
They make us reconsider assumptions.
They make us humble.
They can draw us deeper into mystery.
And sometimes, if we follow them far enough, they lead us back to Jesus.
“What are you looking for?”
Maybe you don't know yet.
That's okay.
Keep asking.
Keep seeking.
Keep walking.
Jesus is not afraid of where an honest question might lead.
Faith isn't having all the answers. Faith is trusting God enough to keep asking the questions.
May it be so, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forever. Amen.
Prayer
God of mystery and truth, thank you for meeting me in my questions. Keep me curious. Keep me humble. Give me courage to question what needs questioning and wisdom to hold loosely the things I cannot know with certainty. Above all, keep me following Jesus, trusting that wherever honest questions lead, your grace will meet me there. Amen.
Reflection Questions
- If Jesus asked you today, “What are you looking for?” how would you answer?
- How has your faith changed because of questions you've been willing to ask?
- What question do you want to keep exploring with God?
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