Pastor Rob
by Rob Caudillo
Lately I have been dealing with a lot of questions. Each Wednesday evening finds me at Alpha with folks who are asked questions such as: “Who Is Jesus? Why Did Jesus Die? Why Should I Read the Bible?” Then there are the several questions that I am facing as part of my service and leadership in the Synod. Why and how are Synods and Presbyteries (part of our denomination’s structure) viable and practical today? Who are we? What are we called to do? How do we face the challenges of change? And there are more. There are cultural or societal questions such as WHY?” or “How could such a thing happen? (especially in light of the tragic events at Virginia Tech). There are the questions associated with worldwide situation – the genocide in Darfur, Sudan and the war in Iraq. There are those personal life questions as Lynell and I see our youngest about to graduate from High School and attend Olympia Community College in Bremerton in the fall – questions related to “empty nesting”, to down sizing, to what do we do with this new chapter in our lives?
Finally there are God questions – not so much what God is asking me, but the questions I have of God – “why is this person having to suffer?” “Why did the recent sale of Adam’s car turn into the mess it has become? Why is a family having so much difficulty in their lives? Why has such and such happened to a young person with lifelong consequences? Why, why, why! In the final analysis, all the questions mentioned are really God questions, questions that God asks of us. Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Life is indeed filled with questions. There are times and seasons in one’s life where there are so many questions to handle and to seek answers. Could it be that those times call us not to seek answers per se, but rather to understand – to understand that these are God’s questions. And in seeking God’s kingdom, all these things will be answered (given to you and me). May our questions, as challenging, important, crazy, hard as they are to each of us, may they help us to seek God even more.
Peace and grace,