Hard questions.

I have just come home from guiding a group of tourists. Every time I go to the air port to pick up a new group I am wondering what it is going to be like. Most of the touring will be similar to what other groups have on their itinerary but it is amazing to see how different every tour turns out to be. The itinerary deals with the sites, stones and dust but the people in the group are what the Bible refers to as the “living stones”. When the two of them comes together only God knows what can happen……and something does happen.
I always learn something new being with a group and when they are gone that is what stays with me. This time is was a message from one of the tour leaders. She shared with us about the Queen of Sheba who came from a country far away in order to seek answers to her many questions.
Rumors had informed her about this Jewish king and his wisdom. Back in those days a trip like the one she did was tiresome, long lasting and dangerous. The Bible tells us that she came to the king to “test him with hard questions”.
Many people have questions which they cannot seem to find answers to and which are nagging from within. These are existential questions and when answers are sought but not found the person is left with a kind of sadness which often turns into a defensive and often also aggressive attitude towards people who claim to have the answers. The Queen came with this kind of attitude ready to push this king into a corner of no escape.
Her attitude changed, however, and she soon found herself having a conversation with Solomon where “she spoke to him about all that was on her heart.”
The gospel of Luke refers to this meeting between the Queen from the South and the King in Jerusalem an states that Jesus’ wisdom goes much further than the one of Solomon.
I am in the “question producer business”. We go through things in life and see things happening to others that leaves us with lots of question marks. I don’t know what my life would have been like if I had not had someone to turn to with my hard questions……and even better; I can speak to Him with all that is on my heart.

Elin Elkouby.