Off the Wall

Posted by Andrea


Read Matthew 26:6-16 and Luke 22:1-23



I didn’t realize quite how much I didn’t know until my kids came along. It seems they are constantly teaching me something. I think children might be one of God’s ways of sneaking life-lessons in when we least expect it. The following scenario took place in my kitchen a while back:



Benton (age 4) is in time-out when I hear him talking.

“No talking in time out,” I warn.

“I was just talking to God.” These kids know all the loopholes.

The timer beeps.

I cannot resist, “What were you and God talking about?”

“I was just asking him a question,” he says.

“Oh? What question did you ask him?”

“God, did you tell Noah to build the ark?”

“And did God answer your question?”

Benton sighs. “No.”

“I only ask,” I say, trying to turn this into a teachable moment, “because when we ask God questions, if
we listen real close, he'll answer them.”

“He didn't," Benton assured me. “But he forgived me.”


The answer Benton got seemed a little off the wall at first, but then I got to thinking. What I neglected to consider in that teachable moment, is that sometimes we don’t get answers because we are asking the wrong questions.


Judas betrayed Jesus because he was asking the wrong questions and he didn’t like the answers he was getting. This woman was wasting an extravagant amount of money and all Jesus could say about it was “She is doing a beautiful thing.” Jesus’ absurd reply left Judas so incensed, he immediately went out to try and force Jesus’ hand.


“If you are here do save us, why aren’t you doing anything?” was Judas’ unspoken question. He received this answer at the last supper: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you,” (Luke 22:20) and in Matthew he continues, “for the forgiveness of sins” (26:28).


Judas didn’t like that answer. He didn’t understand that answer, so he went about doing things the way he saw best.


God sees the big picture. We don’t. We need to the heart of God when we start questioning him.


We ask, “What is the deal with eternal security?” And he answers, I love you.


“Pre trib or post trib. Couldn’t you have made that more clear?” I have a plan for you.


Why did you put that person in my life? I forgive you…


We tend to approach the Throne with burning questions and troubles we cannot get off our mind. And that is exactly what we are supposed to do. But then we get frustrated because we feel ignored or the answer we receive seems like nonsense in our reality. Our Father has a totally different context in view than we do though. He is working out a master plan that we cannot comprehend.


The answer to every question comes down to forgiveness. In his awesome grace and while we were still sinners, God forgave us.


My four year old managed to comprehend this rather easily. He would have liked nothing more than for God himself to lay out the details of exactly how the whole Noah thing went down. But he also understood that it was more important that he was forgiven by the God of the flood and the God of the Promise.


One answer would gratify his curiosity while the other answer is the foundation of salvation.


OK, so he probably didn’t get all that out of it, but he was satisfied.