You know, like when I give her a bowl of soup and say “Honey do you want some crackers for your soup?”

“Why?”

“Cause these crackers taste good in soup.”

“Why?”

“Cause they are yummy soup crackers.”

“Why?”

“Because the soup cracker fairy made them yummy for soup.”

“What color is the soup cracker fairy’s dress?”

“Blue.”

“No daddy, it’s pink and purple.”

If you are a parent, or ever spoken with a child, you have laughed, sighed, had your patience stretched, and your heart expanded while answering a question.

If you are a parent, or ever spoken to a child, you also know this next statement to be true: If the question is sincere then there is no such thing as a dumb question.

Questioning is how children learn.

And as parents, or someone who has answered the question, we know that the question reveals a lot about what the child comprehends, and who they are becoming.

In this situation, you may have often responded to the child’s question with a question of your own.

We do this because our question positions our kids for the answer. It’s meant to help them learn how to process and find the answer themselves. It’s about helping them mature.

I have learned that when it comes to a sincere question, our heavenly Father absolutely loves them. This is evidenced in the life of Jesus.

Have you ever noticed that Jesus rarely answers a question directly? When He is asked questions, often His response is to either tell a story or ask His own question.

Even when He was teaching, He almost always raised questions.

Jesus told Nicodemus that to enter the Kingdom of heaven he would have to be born again. Jesus told a large crowd that, unless they ate of His flesh and drank of His blood, they had no life in them. While we now know what Jesus meant, at the time, these were inconceivable thoughts that raised lots more questions.

So why did Jesus often respond to questions by raising more questions? Because questions are one of the best ways to communicate with a free people. And Jesus was absolutely intent on releasing and empowering people into greater freedom.

God loves our freedom, and when I say “loves,” I mean absolutely without even the slightest hint of deviation. He will not compromise even a fraction when it comes to protecting freedom.

Why is freedom so important to Him? Because it’s the atmosphere in which love can exist. And love is the whole point.

Our freedom was what Jesus died to protect, it’s what the cross was all about. It’s the biggest thing that’s ever existed because it’s the soil in which love can be cultivated.

Jesus doesn’t tell free people the answer; he helps them devise a better question. He tells stories and asks His own questions. Along the way, He challenges how we think, and if we are hungry for an answer, we begin to re-form our questions until our mind is—in a word—renewed.

The renewed mind is the one that persists in asking honest questions, knowing that our Father has promised that the answer is soon coming. 

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

Jesus came to reveal the Father. That was the whole purpose of His years on earth. He told us that if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father (John 14:7). To truly see Him, we simply and persistently ask the honest questions until our perspective is aligned with heavens perspective.

Every sincere question is an invitation into a transformative answer. The honest questions resonate in heaven and pull heaven to earth!

And that’s the whole point of asking questions. It’s a search for what is in heaven, what is in our Fathers heart, so that we can live out His answer here on earth.

When we ask God the authentic question, the answer comes with revelation and power. It sets us free and empowers us to know His love in greater measure.

I am a good dad. I tell my kids that all the time, and they believe me. But I don’t hold a candle to my heavenly Father. As much as I want to answer my kid’s questions, God wants to answer ours more! And He so values us that He waits until our hearts are positioned for the answer, until our question reverberates with the answer that is in His heart, until we are ready to live out the answer.

Everything in the heart of our Father wants to answer the question! He knows the answer will transform and empower, set us free and set us on fire with His love!

If you are a parent, or ever talked with a child, you are well positioned for a renewed mind, for an answered prayer, for becoming like Jesus and living in the wonder and power of heaven.

May you ask more questions then you get answers and may you be transformed along the way!