Some of the best a-ha moments in my faith come from children’s sermons. I vividly remember one insightful storyteller giving the children of a congregation several sticky notes with question marks drawn on them. He invited them to wander through the sanctuary and stick the notes on any spot that brought a question to their minds. When their time was up, question marks were everywhere: the baptismal font and paraments were littered with the colorful scraps of paper. One note dangled from a plant; another was thoughtfully and comically stuck to a gentleman’s bald head. They had a lot of questions! No answers were offered that day. Instead, the children and their leader moved from note to note, pausing at each to rub their chins and say aloud, “Hmmm, I wonder . . .”

When it comes to faith, questions may be viewed as threatening. We fear that where there are questions, doubt can take hold. This children’s message taught otherwise. Where there is a question, there is curiosity and chin-rubbing wonder. Where there is a question, there is an invitation for a response, a conversation waiting to happen. Where there is a question, faith is getting a workout, sweating and wrestling, tangled in the possibilities. Faith questions indicate a desire to know answers and create a magical space where a relationship with God can take root and blossom.

Questions have become the backbone of my ministry with youth. I’ve come to recognize that when students feel comfortable asking faith questions, especially the kind that don’t have easy answers and come from deep within, revealing our darkest fears, it is a glowing indicator of growth. How can we know what we truly believe if we don’t ask questions?

Like those little ones with their sticky notes, we have a lot of questions. Many people come to God, and church, seeking answers, but sometimes we only find more questions. Have you ever noticed how often Jesus answers the questions of those he encounters with a question? As our faith deepens, we have even bigger questions:

• Why, God?
• But how, God?
• When, God?

We are promised that one day, all will be revealed. Until then, I’m embracing the “I don’t know” zone with my youth, trusting that questions leave room for the awe and wonder of faith and inviting God to work within our doubts. God’s great big love is the only answer we need.