One of the scribes came up and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” And the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no other besides Him; and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.

Mark 12:28-34

A question asked from a heart that loves truth is always welcome; we should feel secure knowing we follow a teacher who wants us to understand deeply. We can know all of scripture and have all of the wisdom of mankind but until we learn to appreciate the things he teaches us in the Spirit, we will fall short. Sometimes that means asking questions and really trying to understand the answers.

Likewise, we should be able to listen to questions as Jesus did; He did not see questions as provocation or something to fend off but as opportunities to speak the truth, even when the person asking was setting a trap. Sometimes, the groups that come forward with bad intent will have an individual with the right perspective and we can make a difference for that person.

There are good questions and bad questions, but with God there are only good answers.

Ethan Kirl