FAQ: Frequently Avoided Questions

If Jesus Sits At The Right Hand of the Father, Who Sits On His Left ?

We got this question from Grace: "If Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, who sits on his left?"  Interesting question, but before we jump into that, maybe we should back up and explain what all this "sitting at the right hand" stuff is all about to those who might not be aware.  Cool?

There are several places in the New Testament where Jesus is described as sitting at God's right hand.  Jesus says in Matt. 26, "But I say to all of you: from now on you will see the son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Mark 16 describes Jesus ascending into heaven "and he sat at the right hand of God."  Again in Acts 5:31, Rom. 8:34, Eph. 1:20, Col. 3:1, Heb. 1:3, and 1 Peter 3:22 to name a few.  What does all that mean?  Well, in ancient times, to sit at the right hand of the king meant you had a highly exalted position in the king's kingdom.  For instance, in 1 Kings 2:19 when King Solomon takes the throne, it says his mother (Bathsheba) came to meet him, Solomon bowed before her, and then brought a second throne into the palace and set it at his right hand as a symbol for his mother's in the country.  The right handed position was a place of great honor.  

Why Did You Let Me Make the Mistakes I Made?

Here's a great question from JeffB . . . "OK God . . . Why, when I was dating Jennifer in college, did I not realize that she was the perfect girl for me . . . and break up with her instead of staying together with her and starting a family . . ."

I LOVE this question . . . THIS is the kind of question people don't talk about.  We might feel comfortable asking God "Why didn't you protect me from this, or that, or from such and such evil or disease," but rarely do we muster the courage to ask out loud, "Why didn't you protect me from me?!!"

So I'd like to open this one up to the public . . . How do your personal regrets affect your relationship with (or opinion of) God?  Did it drive a wedge between you, bring you closer?  Did you hold God responsible for your regrets, or yourself, or both?  I'd love to know. . .

  

How Could I Expect God to Hear My Prayers?

Here's a question we got from someone who goes by "VT" . . . .  "In a world with so many large scale problems and injustices how can I expect God to hear (let alone answer) my relatively insignificant prayers?"

Great question, VT.  I think it's often difficult for me to imagine a being that could and would choose to listen to the menial prayers of someone like me when, as you say, there are so many more important things happening in the world.

I'll give you my own perspective but then feel free to chime in.  This is from Psalm 5:3: "In the morning Lord, you hear my voice.  In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly."  It's hard to imagine that the God of the universe would at all be interested in anything I would want to ask him or tell him in the morning, afternoon, or evening, for that matter.  But what I have to remind myself is that unlike me, God does not have a limited reserve of emotional energy that begins to run on empty after having dealt with other major issues in the world.  I might only have the capacity to handle one or two crises a week, but God has no limits to what or whom he can listen and comfort.

Any other thoughts on this one?  Challenges?

    

Do You Have To Go To Church To Be A Christian?

Another excellent question . . . This one from Mike.  It seems to me that there are a couple of side questions accompanying this one:

1.  What does it mean to be a Christian?

2.  What is the church?

3.  What's the church's purpose?

So what do you guys think?  Do you have to go to church to be a Christian or not?

Did You Intend There To Be Sin In The World?

This is a question we received on a card a few months ago, which we thought was a very good one.  Did God create the world intending that there would be sin in his creation?  It's an interesting question because on the surface, it appears that God (if there is such a being) is caught in a catch 22.  Here's what I mean.

1.  We know that sin (immoral things that people do) exists in the world.

2.  We know that God created the world

3.  We assume that a benevolent god would prefer a world without sin rather than a world with sin.

4.  We also assume that it is within the power of such a god to create any kind of world he would want including a world in which sin did not exist.

So,

5.  either God is not really all-powerful because he is not able to create a world without sin . . .

6.  or God is not all-knowing because he did not know his creation would go bad.

7.  or God is not all-loving because he didn't create a world without sin when it was within his power to do so.

8. or there is no God.

Sounds like a tough scenario.  But I think if God were addressing this question, he might take issue with premise #7.  Is it true that an all-loving God would not allow a world in which sin existed?  I don't think so.  Here's how I would address the question: