A friend recently told me that a characteristic of a good friend is to ask a lot of questions. Not simple questions like "How's your day going," but heartfelt, deep, to the point questions like "Why do you react that way," or her famous "How does that make you feel?"
I find that I can get caught up in my stories, my life experiences, and don't take enough time to ask people questions, to dig into their lives. For some reason, I think that asking questions makes me look weak, or maybe its just that I like to come off as already all-knowing. Sometimes I think it is because I don't know the "right" question to ask, or don't want the question turned back around on me. Regardless, I have taken up the challenge to ask, not tell. I say challenge because, lets be honest, I like to talk about myself. Really, anyone who has a blog likes to talk about themselves, so I guess that makes me just 1 in 8,000,000... I digress.
I am reminded of the sermon I heard on Sunday at Rock Harbor in Huntington Beach. Francis Chan had been the guest speaker the night before at the main campus, so we were lucky enough to watch the playback of his sermon. The message was centered around The Great Commission of Matthew 28: 16-20, an often quoted passage of the Bible, where Jesus tell us to "Go and make disciples of all nations." I had never heard Francis Chan speak before, and I was glued to the projector screen. It is refreshing to hear someone speaking with such passion, openness and truth. But more than Francis speaking, it was the reminded promise that the Holy Spirit is always with me that gave me comfort when thinking about asking the "right" questions.
Too many times I find myself mad at the slow driver in front me, upset and annoyed by the time I finally reach the Starbucks counter to order my coffee, or grumpy after a long and exhausting day at work and all I want is to talk about me. It is hard not to bring those moods with me wherever I go, but Francis, or rather Jesus, challenges us that we are to live out The Great Commission. It is easy for me to get caught up in my different hats: roommate hat, big sister hat, Christian hat, employee hat, and so on. But I realized that if I'm just "wearing" my Christian hat when I feel like it, I have missed the mark entirely. Jesus calls on us, giving us "all authority in heaven and on earth" that I may go out and live as he did, to live out the gospel, not just share it when I feel like it. One way I want to do this is to invest, ask the questions that need to be asked and speak the truth whenever I can.
It is always humbling to remind myself that the Lord is in control of my life, and that I am here as a living instrument to tell His great story of love, redemption and glory.
Life goes by really fast, its already the end of the day, at the end of the month! And, when did Summer come and go? I don't want to look back on these next few days, weeks or months and realize I never took the opportunity to live out what I so passionately believe in my heart.
Who was this super smart friend who told you about asking questions??
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