Denver Seminary

When asked why she liked the name I've chosen for this blog, a wise friend said, "because I find that questions, and the ability to ask them, are important to our journey, especially as we develop into mature followers of Christ. If we are asking questions, then it is more likely that we are listening and that we are more receptive to learning."

Exactly! Questions, the ability to ask them of ourselves and the willingness to hear and respond to them from others, are essentials to growth in Christ. The psalmist asked a rhetorical question saying, "Who can discern their own errors?" [Ps 19:12] He knew we all need a little help to know when we start to follow a rabbit trail that leads us away from the path to Christlikeness. The Holy Spirit is our guide. He, who never leaves us on our faith journey, sees when we take our eyes off of Jesus to consider an interesting alternative path. He pricks our conscience with an internal tap on the shoulder and asks, "Do you really want to go there?" "Is this the right choice?" "Nancy??!!"

The Spirit can be ignored. And, as we get really good at neglecting His internal tap on the shoulder, we can also actually believe that He isn't tapping any longer; He isn't guiding me! Left to ourselves, or so we think, we can become pretty depressed and even cynical about this whole "spiritual journey" stuff.

Christ's Spirit is speaking and guiding each of us--a wooing, inviting Voice calling us to the "abundant life" that Jesus died to give us. Sadly, many of us do not hear the kind Voice of the Spirit. Rather, we are living a spiritually impoverished existence hearing instead "do more," "fly right or else," "you are too broken to be healed," "earn the right to belong," and/or "your sins are so egregious, so terrible, that you need to be punished before you can be loved." If left unchecked, these "guiding" voices are able to perpetually deter us from the path and rob us of vital and vibrant relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit.

The Spirit also speaks to us through other human beings. We need each other. We are "created for community." If we are willing to listen and receive their guidance, our mentors and spiritual companions and friends can also serve us by tapping us on the shoulder and asking us good questions that will set us back on the path to God through Christ.

The Three Questions^TM

So, what questions does the Spirit ask us, should we ask ourselves, and should we be asking of others?

I believe there are three foundational, spiritually guiding questions. I have been using them for years in mentoring and spiritual direction relationships, and they have been guiding questions for me as I have written and taught others in spiritual formation. They are simple, yet complex. They are safe, yet dangerous. They are diagnostic, yet demanding. They are:

• Who is God?

• Who am I?

• How am I living?

Asked properly, there are actually two questions within each question.

• Who do I believe God to be? And, Who is the God of Scripture, the self-revealed God in Jesus Christ?

• Who do I believe myself to be? And, Who has God created me to be; Who am I IN Christ?

• How am I living in response to who I believe God to be and myself to be? Is it congruent with who God reveals Himself to be and with who I am in and through Christ?

Some Examples

In case I've lost you, here are some examples of possible honest answers to The Three Questions^TM.

Asking the Questions in Love

Simple, yet complex. And, dangerous! Within these questions, God is shining a flashlight into the incongruencies between our beliefs and our actions. This is always uncomfortable. Painful. Vulnerable. And, although God knows what all our incongruencies are and knows what we need to become congruent in heart and mind, He is also gentle with us, patient to give us only what we can receive at any one time.

But, He also requires us to change. If we are to grow in Christ likeness, if we are to become who He created us to be, if we are to fulfill His Kingdom purposes for us during our short span of days, we must become humble before Him, surrender our will to His will, and obey His loving claim upon our lives.

This is important work that needs to be accomplished within the body of Christ. The context for this work is always a context of love. God's love for us means He won't leave us alone, but continues to woo and invite us to Himself through the Spirit. Likewise, when we ask these Three Questions of one another, our motivation needs to be one of love. If one, motivated by revenge or selfishness ("selfish ambition or vain conceit" [see Phil 2:1-11]), were to shine the diagnostic light of the Three Questions onto another's soul, great injury would result.

And so, the Light needs to first and foremost shine onto my own soul, my errant beliefs, and my selfish actions.

"Lord, shine your search light onto my own heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." [Ps 139:23-24]

The Three Questions Blog

This blog is going to be a place where I ask The Three Questions of my own life and of the world around me. I hope that it will provide you with food for thought and perhaps even encourage you to consider where God may be asking you to grow.

I will write about a wide range of topics, things that interest me, my hobbies and obsessions. You'll know me as an avid gardener and bird watcher, as an amateur photographer and a Doodler. I'll be reading God's revelation of Himself in Scripture and in creation and drawing "so what's?" from these observations. You'll know me, too, as a wife and mother, as a corporate chaplain, as a musician, as a spiritual director and a teacher of spiritual formation.

I won't be providing you with a lot of hard and fast answers. I hope to provide you, though, with a friendly tap on the shoulder and a question or two to consider. I'll be eager to hear from you, too. And, you may have a question to ask of me. But please, ask in love. Always, in Love!

©2008 Vine, Vision & Voice
Nancy R. Buschart