Kathy, you are so right!  In the eternal scheme of things, all debates have already been settled by the One who created all things.  Our primary goal should be to do what He asks us to do.  I love this blog.  Thank you for writing this.

If I could actually speak, and if I was able to think about doing anything other than celebrating and praising Him when I experience the joy of meeting Him face to face, I'd have to take a page from David's book and ask:

what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
      human beings that you should care for them? - Psalm 8:4

>>> (add your own question here) <<<

"Lemme guess... a Cubs-fan, right?"

That won't stop me here though.   I think Thomas gets a really bad rap.  He asked questions when he didn't know the answers.  How many of those would we have had the guts to ask?

I've appreciated the OSAS conversations, the Bible conversations (which version), the conversations about sinless perfection.  All of these have forced me to ask God questions and read more in the Bible. :)

I'm sure I'll ask dumb questions... 

Amen, Valerie!

Soozanne, I love your answer!  But now I have my favorite Casting Crowns song (Who Am I?) playing over and over in my head!  I can relate to "if I could actually speak!"  My guess is that I wouldn't be able!

ds, I read once that Billy Graham's question will be "Why me?" too!

IndyChristian, lol - I love that!

Norm, I agree totally about not having any questions when we get to heaven, although I think it will be because earthly concerns will be insignificant there.  I wrote in another blog once that I think in heaven we will have no more interest in thinking about our time on earth than we now have thinking about our time in the womb.  We were there such a short time, and it nurtured us and had a purpose, but we don't long to go back there or ponder what life was like there.  This world is so much grander.  And heaven billions of times more than this!  And as for Thomas, I appreciate his inquisitive nature, because we get to learn from the answers!

Voice, you are such the romantic!  Oh btw, should you get there before I do, could you send me a telegram about the mosquitos?!

Thanks, Lora!  I had never thought about that part of the story either, but it jumped out at me when I was reading from John today.  The Gospel of John is so rich that there are revelations waiting for us in every line!  I never thought about Martha being a "Martha Stewart!"  I like that!

Hi Dennis!  Nice to see you, and you're out of uniform (new pic)! 

Dennis & All...  Lest you think my question was trivial or irrelevant, I assure you it is at the heart of my understanding of the very nature of our ALL-POWERFUL, yet BENEVOLENT God... to be AWESOME... yet SELF-SACRIFICING. And our call is to imitate God.  His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  Humble ourselves and in due time, he will lift us up. Is all this NOT a picture of Jesus, the model (did I mention die-hard) Cubs fan?

And we have some hints at all this in scripture, albeit with some minor editing... 

(from Ex. 38) "The north side was a hundred cubits long and had twenty bronze bases."

Then clearly... right from scripture...
(from Gen. 49) "You are a Cub, O Judah." 

(from Lev. 1)  "Slaughter them at the north side before the LORD"

But encouraged, Dennis.  He's a gracious, inviting God...
(from Luke 13) " People will come from north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God."

And lastly, I urge you to reconsider your allegiances my friend...
(from Deut. 2) " "You have made your way around this country long enough; now turn north."

Answers:

1.  Jesus, is the Bible infallible or inerrant?

It's the Word of God.

Jesus, will we be raptured before or after the tribulation?

Raptured? Where did I write that?

Jesus, will you please tell these people that Saturday is the Sabbath?

No, I changed it to Sunday, thankyou.

Jesus, is speaking in tongues valid anymore?

How do you think I've been talking to you?

Jesus, are you a Calvinist or an Armenian?

Ask Paul!

Jesus, will you please tell my sister that women do not belong in ministry?

Yes, I will.

Jesus, should we sing traditional hymns or contemporary praise choruses?

Neither, sing psalms and scripture songs around here please!

LOL.

Y'think there's any chance at all, that the pearly gates will feature an optional kiosk with a search-engine?  [But the gates will be open for those who prefer instead to enter immediately rather than hang with us geeks playing with the heavenly gadgets.]

Forget my Cubs question above.  (I know the answer is YES.)... Here's my real question... "I won't bother to ask about how/why man had to experience pain.  Instead, please explain how/why the Almighty Himself could even experience 'pain'?  (Gen. 6:6)  [And thus has a 'self-sacrificing' component to His very nature.]

This is very well written. VERY well written!  It's somethign that God has been putting on my heart and I didn't quite know how to put wirds to it.. and you've done a beautiful job. 

I love the song " I'm coming back to the heart of worship.. where it's all about you... I'm sorry Lord for the things I've made it, when it's all about you... "

Kathy,

    You took me seriously??? WOW!!! LOL, LOL!!
 

Kathy,

     LOL, you can't tell that was a joke? Listen you assume much! You state, "you believe you have all the answers, many of which are quite different from what I believe, which is the point of this blog."

How can you assume this? Especially when one answers the absurd with the absurd!! LOL. 

I think I would be like John in the book of Revelation who fell on his face as dead. If I could speak, it would be to say, "Thank You. Thank you. Thank you."

Thank you for an excellent article, Kathy. Doctrine is important, but relationship is primary.

You know Cathy you might have brought everything to clarity for me!
I've already understood that questions will be meaningless, but what I really want is something much greater than questions, I want to see. I want to see what it's like to know people as the Father, without care for the wounds or scars. I want to know what it is to really dance, unashamed and without fear of embarassment. I want to sing and not care if my pitch is right, or am I interpreting correct. I want to see what livign without care, in the presence of the King, as His child, wow, that's what I want, not questions or answers or anything that is only justification for my thoughts and ideas. 

I want to see, clearly and without concern!

Dennis, you said it more clearly than I did!  Amen!  Amen!  Amen!  As Jay says, the doctrine is important.  It's a part of our earthly religious experience to deal with doctrinal issues.  But they are not ultimately what our faith journey is about, and sometimes it seems we do better at talking about the journey than we do actually living it.  Thanks, Dennis!  You are a blessing! 

Tell me what it was like to create the worlds...

I said this way up top.  In heaven I don't think we'll have questions, but that doesn't mean that some things don't need to be answered while here on earth.  If anything God related question shouldn't be asked here because we'll know when we get to Heaven, we wouldn't need "Why I need you?" answered.

Yeah I know that sounds sacreligious, however the Bible does say

so maybe we'd be OK if we thought we had it worked out.

My point on the matter is that as I walk through daily life with Jesus, I have questions and places where I'm confused.  Should I not ask them?  Should I not seek to know him better?  If I have an answer and someone asks, should I just say, "Hey you know when you die, that question you just asked will be trivial."  In the case of the question above though, it may make a big difference whether you get it answered now... or whether you get it answered later. 

Rich Mullins had the following quote:

God spoke to Balaam through his (donkey), and he has been speaking through (donkeys) ever since. So if God should choose to speak through you, you need not think to highly of yourself.

If God can speak through a donkey, this probably means I should at least listen to other's opinions.  Which means I have to digest what they say, the questions they ask, the clarity they might bring to some subject regarding God and hold it up the Biblical reflection and voice of  the Holy Spirit.  However part of interactive listening is making sure I understand what they said and why they say it.

In the end though, it is all about walking with God.  It is about getting to know Jesus.  I just don't know how we can do it (now) without questions.

Hm...

I'm not sure I see the same thing from Christ's response to the woman at the well.  She was a Samaritan, and as a good Jew, Jesus shouldn't have been talking to her. In fact, socially Jesus, as a man, shouldn't have been talking to her.  If she was gathering water at noon (the hottest the part of the day), she didnt' want to be seen.  Considering her past, Jesus shouldn't have been talking to her, since she would have been considered unacceptable from a spiritual standpoint.

I think she was saying (from a cultural standpoint): "You're a good Jew, and we don't agree spiritually.  Why are you talking to me?"  I love how Jesus takes the topic she mentions, turns it around, and shows her that she matters more to him than "religion".

This is one of those Jesus moments that has so much behind it you really have to look closer than the words.  Jesus broke spiritual, social, even gender relationship norms to show her He loved her as she was.

Oh, If I met Jesus in a farmers market I'd say one of the following:

Howdy Jesus, are you here to buy a farmer too?

Tag, You're it!

Let's get a hot dog and hang out! 

It think it shows I have a pretty candid walk with Jesus ;)

I think we're seeing the same situation from different angles.  Maybe it's just a difference of what stands out to each of us.  For me it isn't a so much a discussion of theology, although that's involved.  I see it as Jesus reaching out to an outcast, who had even given up on herself.  His interaction with her changed her so much that people in town took her seriously.  From her history, the people in her town would have probably been ashamed to be seen talking to her, and probably wouldn't listen to her much.  Something about her interaction with Jesus changed that.

I don't mean to say other views are wrong or right.  I'd expect Matthew Henry and F.F. Bruce to see more of the theological discussion in the encounter - they are theologians after all.

I heard a saying once:  Jesus is the only way to the Father, but we're all on a different road to/with Jesus.

I think its awesome we can all look at the same things, acknowledge the same truth, but see it a little differently.

My point here is just that we should not allow these issues to take the place of (or to be counted of equal importance to) the most basic parts of our faith: that of an intimate relationship with Christ and a Christ-like relationship with others.

But the questions ARE part of my intimate relationship with Christ.  If I can't ask or am scared to ask the questions that are in my heart what type of relationship is that?  Look at the Psalms or Ecclesiastes.  Filled with questions.  Heart wrenching stuff.  There are going to be the Job moments were we are told "Knock it off.  I am God.".  But that's only part of the relationship.

Ha!  MH, I totally would.  Why not?  God is, I think, a lot more approachable than we think.  He left heaven to die for us, afterall.   He'd probably prefer Hebrew Nationals, but, being Jesus, I'm sure He'd accept Oscar Meyer.