THE ANSWER IS JESUS...WHAT'S THE QUESTION?

At a Christmas service, the preacher invited all the kids to the front for a short children's message. He began by describing an animal with antlers and a bushy tail, and asked the kids if they could guess what he was describing...but there was no response. He continued, "It's brown and is very popular this time of  year. There's even a song about it." He paused, certain that one of the tykes would guess the answer. Silence. He couldn't believe it, so out of desperation he said, "It pulls a sleigh and has a red blinking nose." Finally one little boy timidly raised his hand and replied,"I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus, but it sure sounds like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to me!"

This young lad is really no different from many of us. He wanted to give the" politically correct" religious answer, but no matter how hard he tried, it just didn't work. How true that is of many of our "pat" answers to the challenging questions of life. It's so easy to get locked into our own religious boxes and miss the obvious. 

But there's something else to consider. In a sense, Jesus is the answer. He's the answer to all the deep and meaningful questions that trouble our lives. Jesus is the answer to the loneliness that plagues millions during the holiday season (Matthew 28:20). Jesus is the answer to the hopelessness that gnaws at at the souls of those who feel like giving up (I Peter 1:3). Jesus is the answer to the spiritual darkness that engulfs our world, resulting in violence, human trafficking and abortion (John 8:12). Jesus is the answer to the instability and lack of purpose characterizing our times (Matthew 7:24-27). Jesus is the answer...Now what's the question?