Bible can help direct us to the answers

We answer questions that others don’t have — but we believe they should. We answer questions based on conclusions we arrive at with only a sliver of information and pretend like it is the only relevant information available. I am certain that if I knew more of their story, I would likely change my opinion of them, and we could probably learn something from each other — because I do things that cause others to have the same reaction to me.

It is worth considering the direction of our questions as well. Do they point backward: “Whose fault is this?” Do they point forward “How do we fix this if we can?” Do they imply responsibility: “What role do I play?” Do they imply a victim mentality: “What are you going to do about it?” They are all important questions, but most people lean one way or the other by default.

When looking for answers that call for us to move from one place to another, it is necessary to know where we are and how we got there. It helps us to know our environment so that we are dressed properly and know how to speak (or be silent). It we don’t know where we are or how we got there, we will have little chance of lighting out in the right direction.

Knowing where we are and what is most important at the time has implications for our questions. I don’t always need to know how to get to Albuquerque. It is not always appropriate for me to ask where the best seafood restaurant is. Likewise, it is not a good idea to volunteer to everyone I see where the nearest bathroom is, even if they want to know.

Orientation is often better than answers. Usually, when a person has enough of the right information, they can figure out what to do next. Jesus was a master at this. In John 9:1-5, there is an encounter between the followers of Jesus and a blind man.

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

The disciples wanted to know why. Jesus reoriented them and answered the question, “What is to be done?”

The Bible is a difficult book to understand, but it will reorient us if we let it. It will tell us how we got here, but it does not dwell there. That orientation is better than answering all our specific questions. We have too many anyway.

There is a way to understand Christianity less in terms of giving us answers and more in terms of orienting us properly in the world and in relation to each other. This gives us flexibility to respond faithfully as we live our lives. This requires us to be brutally honest and keep our ears and hearts open. It requires humility that can take a lifetime to develop.

We all like answers, but some things are beyond us. The best we can do is figure out where we are and strike out in the right direction based on the information we have.