Questions

Why is it that we have a culture that seems so afraid of questions? More importantly, why are we afraid of questions that come from our teens? At this age, questions are one of the greatest examples of our teens' spiritual progress. Each question is further evidence of a person's willingness to explore faith, to pursue answers in light of so much ambiguity. Yet for parents, teachers, youthworkers, questions threaten us and sometimes make us feel inadequate. As Christ followers, however, we shouldn't be afraid of the questions our children ask. We should be encouraged!

If you are a parent or youth worker of a child in our ministry, I want to encourage you to be excited the next time that young man or woman asks a spiritual question. Besides, what's the worst that can happen? You don't know an answer? Well, that certainly shouldn't intimidate us.

The Bible instructs us to rest in the assurance of our Heavenly Father's power and love and grace, and this includes trusting Him with the answers, even when we don't feel like we have them.

My encouragement to you as shapers of the next generation is that you would be empowered and gifted with the confidence in God's nurturing of the hearts of our young people. With each question, you can be reminded that more of God is being discovered. That's amazing news!