If Jesus Is the Answer, What Is the Question?
Questions from God
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In his book, The Bible Jesus Read, Philip Yancey relates seeing graffiti stating that ‘Jesus is the answer’. Over this someone had scrawled, ‘So what’s the question?’ Since my earliest readings of Scripture I have been struck by how many times God poses questions to his people. We go to the Bible seeking the answers to our deepest questions about life, community, and death. And, so often, what we find are questions from God.
In If Jesus is the Answer, What is the Question? several of the experiences related in the Scriptures that include one or more questions from God to His people are examined. God surely knows the answer and poses these questions for our benefit. We have the luxury of examining these questions with the entire Scripture including the Gospels of Jesus. I hope this study encourages you to find more questions and to continue to seek the answers.
God would not ask a question knowing you could not find the answer. Jesus asserts that He is the answer. And He asserts that the Old Testament is describing Him so that He would be known by others when He came. So I encourage you to join with others to explore these questions. But do so freely, with the understanding that God wants these questions explored. Exercise is meant to change your external aspect and feed your physical health. Information is meant to change your inner formation and feed your spiritual health.
God does not leave us in a void with no guidance. It is important to see the group discussion as a dialogue with God. He wants us to understand. But He wants us to seek the answers in such a way that we attain deeper understanding than if we were given a set of tenets to memorize. These questions are intended to lead to an understanding and clarification of our world view that is truly a part of our being.
Again, the answers to these questions are in the Scriptures and in you. However, the details and emphasis of the answers will change with your life experience and life events. Your answer today may have changed somewhat from your answer years ago. And, you may question the validity of your response to these questions. Do not be afraid to express doubts. It was the doubt of Thomas that led to a deeper understanding and faith when Jesus presented him with more information.
I have deliberately kept the text in this book to a minimum. My goal is to point you to the Scripture texts in your Bible. While I briefly describe the Scripture verses, I assume the readers will precede each section by reading the Scripture reference. In the group it is common for several individuals to have different Bible translations. This may lead to more discussion than otherwise as you review subtleties in Scripture.
I assume God asks these questions because they are important. God wants us to think about our responses. Certainly God knows the answers. He asks us to think about these questions for our benefit and for our enrichment. And so I invite you to join in a dialogue with God and to go with others on a journey to a deeper understanding of your Lord.
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About the Book
In If Jesus Is the Answer, What Is the Question?, Dr. Genova reflects on six important questions, each posed by God to his people in the Hebrew scriptures. God asks these questions because we need to examine our own experiences and to use our reason to gain an improved understanding of God, ourselves, our community, and our interrelationships.
The questions are:
—Who is your Lord?
—Who are you?
—What do you need?
—Do you understand?
—What will God do?
—How will you respond?
Seek each question and the dialogue with God recounted in the Old Testament. Continue into the Gospels as Jesus asks these same questions. As Jesus said, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5: 39–40).
About the Author
Dr. Genova earned multiple degrees in theoretical elementary particle physics. Like the disciples, he has minimal formal training in theology, but he has spent many years reading, discussing, and teaching theological topics. Dr. Genova applies the scientific method to the important questions of life and community that are posed by God to his people.
After a career centered primarily in defense R & D, he and his wife retired to Greensboro, North Carolina, where they are members of Christ United Methodist Church. He has been an amateur astronomer for over fifty years and has taught physics at Elon University.