Examining the Nature of Questioning God

 

A profound question for theological discourse is not simply whether one questions the divine, but rather how one approaches such inquiry. This concern echoes the scriptural admonition against testing God, a principle explicitly stated by Christ when addressing Satan in the desert. Nevertheless, a genuine path toward spiritual discernment necessitates engaging God with our questions. The critical distinction, therefore, lies not in the presence of doubt or curiosity, but in the attitude of the petitioner.

The opening chapter of the Gospel of Luke (1:5−38) presents a compelling comparison, offering two distinct paradigms for questioning God through the contrasting experiences of Zechariah and Mary.

The narrative first details the encounter of Zechariah, a priest of the line of Aaron and a man considered righteous before God. In his advanced age, he and his wife, Elizabeth, remained childless. When the Angel Gabriel appeared to him in the Temple to foretell the birth of a son, John, Zechariah responded not with praise, but with skepticism rooted in his worldly circumstances. His inquiry, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years,” reveals a focus on his own human limitations rather than God's omnipotence. As a priest, he would have been intimately familiar with the covenant history, including God's provision of a son to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. His question stemmed from doubt and a need for human assurance, effectively prioritizing empirical impossibilities over divine capability. For this failure to believe, his voice was silenced until the prophecy was fulfilled.

In stark contrast is the subsequent annunciation to Mary. Gabriel's initial greeting, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!" caused Mary confusion, but her eventual question concerning the promised birth of Jesus arose from a fundamentally different posture. She inquired, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The nature of this query is one of curiosity and a desire for understanding regarding the mechanism of God's will, not a challenge to the certainty of the divine promise itself. Mary's response acknowledged the truth of the revelation while seeking clarity due to her physical circumstances.

Her subsequent declaration is the theological cornerstone of this distinction: "I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true." This statement represents complete submission to God’s sovereign plan. While Zechariah demanded assurance based on his own frame of reference, Mary expressed belief and then submitted to the revealed will of God.

It is evident, therefore, that human questioning is an inevitable part of the faith journey. However, one should approach God's plans not with a spirit of skeptical challenge that necessitates proof, but with an attitude of reverent curiosity that seeks to understand the manner of divine execution. The appropriate response to a revealed plan is to acknowledge God's wisdom, seek understanding, and ultimately surrender control, allowing the divine purpose to unfold within one's life.

We are all human, and to question is inevitable. The example of Luke 1 reminds us that when God's plan seems impossible, the vital step is to move past the paralysis of doubt and into the confidence of surrender. The goal of our inquiry should not be to validate God's power, but to prepare our hearts for His will. We can, and should, ask "How?" as long as our final answer remains, "I am the Lord's servant."

Ultimately, the scriptural accounts of Zechariah and Mary teach a crucial lesson: Faith is not the absence of questions, but the proper orientation of the questioner. We are called to approach God not with a demand for proof based on human limitations, but with a reverent curiosity that seeks to understand the manner of the miracle while fully submitting to its divine origin. The outcome of our inquiry depends entirely on the spirit in which we ask.