If you have ever been around a child you know that they ask questions. They ask nosy questions, silly questions, never ending questions. They will ask the same question over and over again. Why do they do this? Are they just trying to drive us crazy? Is the quiet too much to bear? Well maybe, but mostly they ask all of the questions because they are curious and are trying to understand the world around them. Questions help them understand.
Jesus once took a child and referring to him/her compared a convert to the child (Matthew 18:1-6). Have you ever had a chance to ponder why Jesus would do this? He said that unless we become like children, we will not be able to enter into heaven. Don’t mistake me, there is much more than this to this section of scripture, but stay with me here; Jesus mentions that a child is humble. You know who is not humble? A know it all; someone who thinks that they know all the answers. A child is usually quick to admit to not knowing something. Many times they even say ‘I don’t know’ to buy them time to figure out an answer! Why then is it hard for us to admit that we do not know?
I say all of this to bring out this basic point; why aren’t we asking questions to get to know God and His word? We read our Bibles regularly, we attend Bible studies like clockwork, and yet we find ourselves on a knowledge plateau. We justify our lack of knowledge in many ways, we say that we are busy; we don’t know Greek, blah, blah, blah. At the end of the day however; we limp on with a superficial knowledge of the Bible and hope that no one ever asks us a question that makes us look foolish, and forget even studying with someone! The truth is that this limping along is not enough! The good news however is that every day is a good day to change that!
The question (excuse my pun) is, how do we get nosy? How do we start asking questions that will help deepen our understanding of God and His word? My favorite example of this mentality is in Acts 2 when Peter preaches an amazing heart piercing sermon and the people around him start with- what? A question! That’s right, they got nosy! The asked, “What shall we do?” They did not walk away with ambiguity in their minds! No, they asked for more information.
We know that all scripture is inspired by God, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). In order to begin to understand it we must look to understand it, we have to start asking those ever so important questions. Here are some practical questions to ask when we open our Bibles;

• Who is speaking? (Or being spoken through) Is it a prophet, an apostle, etc.
• Who are they speaking to or about? (Believers, non-believers, one person or a group)
• Are they giving specific instructions? (Example, 1 Thess. 5; advice to Christians)
• What is the time period? What other events are going on at the time? (There are amazing helps available to determine dates; I’ll share a list of resources at the end of the article.)
• What is the tone of the writer? Is the writer angry, joyful? How would it affect what is spoken?

You can come up with so many more questions, this is just the tip of the iceberg! The point is to not be satisfied with just basic facts, but to develop a habit of asking those questions and look deeper! Here are a few other questions to help you dive deeper into the text;

• Is the text literal or figurative?
• Is this applicable to us in the modern day? How?
• How does this tie in with the overall message of the Bible?

I could just go on and on! What questions can you come up with? Listen, every time that you ask a question you will learn a little bit more about God, His word, and our place in it all. You know the saying, ‘There is no such thing as a dumb question.”? Well it is true! Every time that you ask a question, you come away with something. In the case of the Bible, you come away more equipped to point others toward Christ. After all, isn’t the point of knowledge to do something with it? Until next week ladies, get nosy!

 

by Fee Rocha

Fee is a Christian wife and mother who lives in Sidney, Nebraska. She loves to work alongside her husband, Dustin in the ministry. She home schools her three children and loves a good nature documentary. Her biggest accomplishment is learning how to drive in the snow which serves her well as she drives her own version of the joy bus on Wednesdays and Sundays.