It wasn't that God did not know the answers to these questions. After all, the psalmist assures us that as God He knows our thoughts before we know them ourselves. No, something else was at work.
These questions called for Adam and Cain to answer them for themselves. They were more than rhetorical. The questions pressed personal responsibility and called for accountability. God's question to Adam brought him to step from behind the futile attempt to hide and to face God in what would bring bad news and good news. God's address to Cain graciously laid before the young man the divergent paths set before him and the destination of each.
Questions carry with them a leverage that mere declaration does not. They often give a finger hold to pry open the most closed of minds. They can draw a person's attention to a subject the person would not otherwise consider. Questions engage a person where an assertion could drive him or her away. In other words, questions cultivate communication.
When we bring this thought to conversations for Christ, we tap into a winsome way to witness. Proverbs 18, which contains many principles for constructive communication and the power of words, informs us of the importance of listening before answering. Often in witness we regurgitate the gospel into someone's life, with little concern for communication. But questions engage. They direct us to the intellectual itch created by the Holy Spirit. They enable us to find the bookmark in the person's story left by a previous conversation for Christ.
Questions bless us from seeing how God is working in another's life. We are enriched by getting to know another person. And we are equipped to speak truth into their lives to nudge them in the way of truth.
One of the best books I have read on the value and practice of questioning in the conduct of personal witness is Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Gregory Koukl (Zondervan, 2009). For example, Koukl writes:
Using simple leading questions is an almost effortless way to introduce spiritual topics to a conversation without seeming abrupt, rude or pushy. Questions are engaging and interactive, probing yet amicable. (Tactics, 48)
We can ask questions to understand. We can ask questions to introduce a thought. We can ask questions to tease out the consequences of a person's belief. As we ask questions like, "Why do you say that?," we gain specifics to address rather than straw men to tear down. With a genuine interest in learning, we can engage people in conversation for Christ, resting on the Holy Spirit to use our efforts as He sees fit.
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment