Question?

My hiatus from blogging is coming to an end. It's time to give my fingers a work out and get some thoughts communicated. The problem with going on a blogger's vacation is that when you find the gumption to write, there is an absolute overload of ideas to expound upon. Where to begin? I'll start with punctuation marks. Of all the typographical symbols out there, the question mark causes me the most trepidation. I oft times find myself peering at it with anxiety. What if I don't know the answer to the words preceding it? I like to have the answers. What does it imply if I don't have the correct response? "How old are you?" and "How much weight have you gained?" will most certainly be met with disdain by the average American woman. There was once a time when I would become irate when greeted with highly personal questions. I felt that if there was something I wanted an individual to know about my innermost self, then I would have mentioned it. The walls of self preservation were so high that they deflected all enquiring minds. But where would we be without those who query? Isolated and possibly ignorant. In some cultures (and among many controlling personalities) there has to be a certain art to how you make inquiries. Asking "why" and "how" can be viewed as disrespectful and signify your lack of faith in a person's competence. Often questions can be seen as intrusive and even rude. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Questions have that potential. To sharpen and challenge. They can help shave away the old rusting parts of our thinking, to draw us closer to one another, and to even draw us closer to Him. Jesus asked Simon Peter if he loved Him. Jesus knew the answer, but yet He asked. Why? So Peter would mull over the answer. Questions can focus our attention upon what is meaningful. Asking them has also been a struggle for me in times past, particularly asking out of need. Pride makes it painful. We fail even to make our requests known to God. A friend of mine asked me today, "What material things are you praying for?" I didn't have any to list. The next question was, "So, you don't need anything?" Well of course I do. Then the question with an obvious answer is, "Why aren't you asking God for them?" Matthew 7:7 says "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Maturity in my walk with with the Lord and friends in the Body of Christ who sharpen me have caused me to appreciate the fearsome question mark. It doesn't tear us down or make us vulnerable. Through its use we can be edified, centered, and sharpened. It is not to be ran from, but embraced. Question mark, I fear you no longer.