Anyone who reads through the book of Genesis is caught up in the story of those early patriarchs. They are the stuff of a good novel. But, to read Genesis is to also find many questions which have no answers. The problem is there are questions which we think need to have answers, but, alas, there are none. For example, we know the reason for the flood in the days of Noah. The world was a wicked place, but was not this particular response of God a bit too much? And, then there was the overkill at Sodom and Gomorrah. Why did God not get upset with Jacob for stealing the birthright? Of course, the thing that bothers a lot of folks the most is what appears to be the God sanctioned violence?
To read Genesis is to stumble into a lot of good questions. I remember a guy who in the St. John Church back in my days as its pastor. He was a young man who spoke of himself as an agnostic. He came to church only because his wife delivered an ultimatum. However, when he got there the Lord started working in his heart and before he knew it he was talking about himself as a professing Christian who wanted to be baptized. Though a new Christian, he still carried his questions with him. He often said, "I no longer allow my questions to keep me from faith in Christ. I still have them, but I have put them on the back burner for the time."
As Genesis, or the Old Testament, is read we often come to a moment of wondering how to handle some of the unanswered questions that the Word throws out there for us. Maybe not being able to figure them out simply speaks to the limited intellect we possess. Maybe we have them because God is God and not one of us. Maybe we have them because God wants us to have them. Maybe my old friend had the best idea as he declared the reality of the back burner in his spiritual search.
To read Genesis is to stumble into a lot of good questions. I remember a guy who in the St. John Church back in my days as its pastor. He was a young man who spoke of himself as an agnostic. He came to church only because his wife delivered an ultimatum. However, when he got there the Lord started working in his heart and before he knew it he was talking about himself as a professing Christian who wanted to be baptized. Though a new Christian, he still carried his questions with him. He often said, "I no longer allow my questions to keep me from faith in Christ. I still have them, but I have put them on the back burner for the time."
As Genesis, or the Old Testament, is read we often come to a moment of wondering how to handle some of the unanswered questions that the Word throws out there for us. Maybe not being able to figure them out simply speaks to the limited intellect we possess. Maybe we have them because God is God and not one of us. Maybe we have them because God wants us to have them. Maybe my old friend had the best idea as he declared the reality of the back burner in his spiritual search.
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