Can I Ask You A Question?

On the way home from church tonight, Jacob spoke up, "Dad, can I ask you a question?" When your seven-year-old asks this, it puts you on your toes. Will it be, "How are babies made?" or "Why do some people not stay married?" or "Why did God let me get hurt today?" or "Do you remember that movie where Buggs Bunny and Daffy were in the desert and saw the mirage?" The possibilities are practically endless.

Of course, I have been dealing with a lot of questions lately. We started a Tough Questions small group at church and I have had to analyze a lot of questions over the last few weeks. When people have the freedom to ask anonymously, you tend to get honest questions. Maybe people are worried their question will be taken as irreverent or stupid. But those questions need to be asked and addressed. I believe people want answers to their questions, but I am finding many people just won't commit to finding the answer. Many of the questions I have seen lately have life altering ramifications, yet not many are interested in looking into it, other than asking the question.

When Jacob asks tough questions, I am relieved in some ways that he will not settle for a short version of the answer. He wants to understand it inside and out. That's good...sometimes. Other times it gets annoying when he asks for explanations on every little thing. But I wish others shared his drive to get to the bottom of things. So, anyway. Jacob's tough question was, "Dad, do you remember that movie with Buggs Bunny and Daffy when they..." And he settled for my response of "Yes."