Questions For Every Christian To Contemplate

We live in a noisy, all too often, fractious world full of shouting voices all claiming to possess the whole truth about everything. Opinions are bandied about as if they were, unquestionable, unassailable facts. And those who hold them use them as weapons against any who present other, opposing, equally absolutist opinions. And few seem to see the irony of it all; that is, that all of this arrogance and bluster, all of this self-assured and absolutist noise is being made by flawed, sinful human beings acting as if they are gods. I must confess; I am often guilty of this behavior, too.

The antidote to all of this is to do the hard work of confronting difficult questions. Who in all of history presents us with the most difficult questions about ourselves, our world, and the meaning and purpose of life? Who in all history challenges our most cherished worldly ideas and arguments by both his words and his deeds? I would argue, as a believing Christian, that the answer to those questions is Jesus Christ. This article will be a series of questions and challenges from the One who says of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6).

Do we believe Jesus when he says, very specifically, “I am the way, the truth, and the life?” If we do believe, shouldn’t that make us want to listen to his words and to take them seriously, and then use them as guides for our own daily lives? Do the words of Jesus make us see the world differently? Should his way, his truth, and his life challenge the ways we live our lives in this fallen and broken world? Does Jesus’ way, truth, and life challenge our understanding of the world’s ways, truths, and lifestyles? Does Jesus’ way, truth, and life help us see the world’s ways for what they really are? Or do we find ourselves going along more readily with the ways, the truths, and the lifestyles of the world? If we see ourselves as followers of Jesus Christ, shouldn’t we be thinking often and deeply about these things? For the sake of our eternal souls?

When Jesus says in Matthew. 25:34-45. “When I was hungry you gave me food…Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you…Amen, I say to you, whatever you did (or did not do) to one of the least of these brothers/sisters of mine, you did (or did not do) for me”, do we take his words seriously? Do we take them to heart? Or do we often hear ourselves saying something like, “That’s all well and good. Those are fine ideals, but in the ‘real world’, one has to be more pragmatic, more practical?” When we do this, are we not saying and believing that the ways of the world are wiser than Jesus’ ways, that the world’s truths are greater than the truth of Jesus’?

Do we ever ask ourselves, “When I come before Him on the Last Day and he asks what I did for ‘the least of his brothers and sisters’, will I be able to say that I saw his face in the ‘least of my brothers or sisters’ (in whatever form that takes), that I treated them as if, like myself, they were one of his own, made in his image and likeness? Will I be able to say that I took his words seriously, and that because of his words I saw and responded to the suffering and the needs of the poor, willingly, even joyfully? Or will I have to admit that I fearfully, or even wilfully turned away from their suffering and need; that I honored and served only my wants, my passions? Did I shape my ideas about ‘who counts’ on Jesus’ words and actions, or the ideas of the world? If I am honest with myself, wouldn’t I have to say that I have a mixed record in these matters, at best. But if we see this, doesn’t that open the door to the possibility of future growth, with the grace and mercy of God to help us? The choice is always there.

If I believe all that Jesus says and does, that he is the living Word of God, the source and goal of all that is good, true, and beautiful, would it not be a matter of wisdom on my part to try with all of my might to truly hear his words and to put his ways into practice every day? Of course, we know that we can not do this by our powers alone, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God” (Mk. 10:27). What God desires is simply our willing desire to be the person he made us to be. He will provide us with both the forgiveness that liberates us and the graces that will empower us in all of our efforts to “love one another as he loves us” (Jn. 13:34).

Some final difficult questions for us to confront. Who am I being evangelized by, Jesus Christ and his words and deeds, or am I allowing myself to be evangelized by the finite and fickle things of the world? Do I believe Jesus, or do I believe the human ideologies and rationalizations of this present moment in history? Can I see the difference? Lord, give me the graces I need to rise up onto my feet and to begin walking in your ways this day and all those yet to come. Amen.