The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children. Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)
You cannot have faith without questions, for the simple reason that God has chosen to keep many secrets. The secret things belong to the Lord.
There are also certain things God has revealed—that is what makes faith possible. There are certain things God has kept secret—that is what makes faith necessary. The Apostle Paul says, “Now I know in part” (1 Cor. 13:12). We know only in part, which is why we walk by faith and not by sight. Faith lives with unanswered questions.
You cannot live in this world without asking ‘Why?’ We live with the mystery of evil and the mystery of suffering. Just as it is part of Christian faith to say we know what God has revealed, it is part of Christian humility to say we do not know the things God has kept secret.
When suffering comes close to home, whether from moral evil or natural disaster, the world will say to us, “How do you explain this?” as if faith depended on having all the answers.
If you had all the answers, you would have no need of faith. The day will come when we will know fully, even as we are fully known (1 Cor. 13:12). But on that day, faith will no longer be necessary. Faith will be turned to sight, and we will behold Him. Until then we will have faith with questions, and that will be the normal experience of the Christian life.
Where could you be bolder about what God has revealed? Where could you be humbler about what God has kept secret?
