The question to sit with

This chapter is short on purpose. It asks one question, and the work is yours.

The question

Find a quiet place. Read this slowly, more than once.

If God gave me none of the things I’m asking Him for today, would I still want to know Him, walk with Him, and have a relationship with Him?

What this question is not

It isn’t a trap. It isn’t here to prove you don’t really love God, or to make you feel like a fraud. If your honest answer is I’m not sure, or even no, not yet, you haven’t failed anything.

This question is like the “you are here” dot on a map. It doesn’t judge the spot. It just tells you where you’re standing, so you can see which way to walk.

Why it’s worth asking

Most of us never ask it, because we’re a little afraid of the answer. But you can’t grow from a place you won’t look at. The people in the Bible who grew the most were the ones who were honest with God about where they really were. David wrote psalms of complaint. The man in Psalm 73 admitted he’d nearly walked away. Their honesty was the beginning of their nearness.

And remember where this class started: we love Him only because He first loved us. Whatever your answer is today, His love for you is already settled. You’re not answering this question to earn anything. You’re answering it so you can know yourself, and keep coming to know Him.

Write it down

Take ten minutes and write your answer. Be honest. Nobody else needs to read it unless you want them to.

If you’ve been keeping the two-column sheet from chapter one, look at it again. Has anything moved?

Recite this

God already loved me first. I can afford to be honest.

Try it this week

Write your honest answer to the question. Then pray it back to God, just as you wrote it.

I’ll write it on ________________. I’ll share what I learned with ________________, if I choose to.