The Answer

. . . and a little child will lead them. Isaiah 11: 6

How can it be the end of August already?

It seems like only last week that we were gearing up for the first Vacation Bible School of the summer. This year I got to help with two different VBSs, one at our church and one at the Lutheran school my kids attend.

I love VBS. It's so much fun to make Bible stories come alive for young ears and to act silly and dress up like a farmer or pretend I'm a queen with a horrendous British accent.

I always get a giggle out of listening to the smallest children answer questions.  One sweet little guy from a few years ago was a particular favorite of mine.  His enthusiastically waving arm was impossible to ignore, even though you knew what was coming. It didn't matter what you asked - he always answered, instead, the question that was in his own mind.

Me: Do you know what Jesus did when the people said they were hungry?

Little boy:  My brother lost a tooth last night.

Me:  How do you think the disciples felt when their boat was caught in the storm?

Little boy:  Dogs have forty-two teeth.

Me:  What song should we sing next?

Little boy:  Look!  I've got a sucker!

Even though they were always wrapped up in the fun theme of the week, the children usually seemed to remember that the main reason they were there was to learn about God.  As the  closing leader quizzed them each day about what they had done and learned, they were ready with what they knew surely had to be the right answer. 

The leader would ask them who was their friend and they'd come up with that fresh-out-of-Sunday School answer to beat all answers: "Jesus!"  He'd ask what the day's Bible Story was about and they'd cry, "Jesus!"  He's ask what the children had made for a craft, and again the answer would come - "Jesus!"

No matter what the question was, the answer was always, "Jesus."

Children are sweet, aren't they?  And so naive.  And so simple.  And so deeply profound that it takes your breath away.

The questions get harder as we get older.  We go from Who wants ice cream to Who am I to How do I cope, and with every new and more challenging question the answer seems further removed.  But maybe the kids are on to something.  Maybe when we know the answer already, the questions are easier to face.

Question:  What does the future hold?

Answer:  (Change, no doubt, and good times and bad times.  But in all of it, one thing will remain constant - every minute of every day we will be offered the faithful love and soul's protection of our devoted friend,) Jesus.

Question:  How do I deal with the hurt that is tugging at my heart?

Answer:  (Nothing will erase heartache in an instant.  But the knowledge of being loved is the heart's greatest comfort.  And nothing shows so much love for you as the sacrificial life, death and resurrection of) Jesus.

Question:  Why is God allowing this to happen?

Answer:  (God allows sin to be present in the world, and that means that bad things happen.  But although we feel alone and frightened, He never abandons us.  He loves us so much that He refuses to let us sink into the pain of a sin-filled world and a sin-filled self, and to bring us to Him He sent his only Son) Jesus.

Question:  Why am I such a failure?

Answer:  (Nobody lives up to their own expectations.  Nobody lives up to others' expectations for them.  Most certainly, nobody lives up to the expectations God has for each of us.  But no matter what we look like when we look at ourselves, when God looks at us He does not see us and all our failures . . . He sees) Jesus.

We ask questions of God.  Big questions.  Important questions.  We ask, and then we seek His response in prayer and in His Word.  Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I (Isaiah 58:9).  Here am I, He says . . . Here is my Son.  Here's the answer.

It's naive.  It's simplistic.  But it's the ultimate truth - no matter what the question is, the answer is always Jesus.

Originally published in The Alpena News, August, 2013