Ever notice how inquisitive children are? They are often little question boxes who want to ask about everything.

"What makes it rain?"

"How did Spiderman do that?"

"Why did my goldfish have to die?"

"Daddy, are we there yet?"

We circle the same stumps, raise the same tired issues, and chant the same memorized responses in unison.
It can be annoying and may get on your nerves. But one thing is for sure: It is never boring when bright and inquiring children are around!

To the contrary, life can be very boring around some adults. They never ask questions. They hold to a dull routine, question nothing, and rock no boats. They have lost the sense of excitement about life that little children exhibit so naturally.

When we stop asking questions, we...

  • betray our complacency
  • settle for mediocrity
  • stop growing

There is, of course, a certain danger in asking questions. People who are intellectually dead fear the person who asks questions, for she disturbs their mental slumber. And those who are spiritually dead actively oppose questioners, for they do not want to face the fact that they have so few workable answers – or can even admit the existence of questions outside their dull list which no one other than themselves is bothering to ask anymore.

The joy of asking questions far outweighs any risks involved. All of a sudden, someone emerges from a deep rut and looks around on a larger universe than he has seen before. There is challenge and meaning to life again. The search for truth is so much more wholesome than the putrid atmosphere of dull dogmatism. All of a sudden, one begins to experience a strange but exhilarating feeling in his or her spiritual life. It is growth!

When we dare to ask life's meaningful questions, we...

  • leave boredom and emptiness behind
  • begin reaching for lofty goals again
  • know the thrill of spiritual advancement!

The enemies of our faith chide Christians for being close-minded and pride themselves on asking "relevant" questions about the human conditions. Some of us give their charge credibility. We circle the same stumps, raise the same tired issues, and chant the same memorized responses in unison. The world passes by, hears nothing of importance being said, and simply ignores us.

Jesus said his disciples should be like little children. I wonder what traits he might have had in mind. Maybe one of them was their penchant for asking questions — he sure asked a lot of questions himself!