Who are we? Why are we here? What happens when we die? What is our ultimate fate? These are, in many ways, the most important questions mortal beings, beings who know that they are mortal (oysters and chickens are, too, but don’t know it), can ask. And in the Gospel of Luke, someone comes to Jesus with what is, in fact, the most crucial question of all.

 Read Luke 10:25. What did this lawyer ask, and why did he ask it?

 However serious the question itself, the Bible clearly states that he came to test Jesus. We know that sometimes some people may come with skepticism, even unbelief, and may not even be serious in their questioning, but they could still be reached. This is precisely how Jesus dealt with the lawyer, even though He knew that the man’s initial intentions were not genuine. Yet, for the lawyer and the audience, this question was an opening that Jesus could use to prompt them to search their own hearts. Even knowing the lawyer’s motives, Jesus was not going to ignore him or be disrespectful to him.

 In the end, what question could be more important than this one? “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” No matter what our religious rituals or practices, behind them all is this crucial question. In contrast to this one, what else really matters for beings whose lives are depicted as “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14)? For what is the only other option to eternal life than eternal death?

 Read 1 Corinthians 15:30-32. What point is Paul making here that underscores the importance of eternal life?

 However dubious his motives, the lawyer asked a crucial question, and Jesus, ever watchful to use any and every opportunity for mission, took advantage of it to reach souls.