When Reason Fails You

The ability to think is quite possibly the greatest gift given to mankind. We are not the fastest, strongest, toughest or most numerous beings of creation but our ability to think means we rule. Reasoning allows us to flourish and succeed. We can figure a way to overcome most obstacles. If we could stay united, there is much we couldn’t do (Genesis 11:6). However, even when we think we have it all figured out doesn’t mean that we are not dead wrong.

In Genesis chapter three, Eve is tempted in the garden to break the one rule that God has given to mankind. Satan is clever and makes his case with a small but profound life, “What God said isn’t true, you won’t die.” Why would Eve believe this snake over her creator?

The answer is she thought about it.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:6

It made sense. The tree looked good. It was edible. She wanted to know what God knew. Why wouldn’t you want to know good and evil like God did? Was God just holding them back? Why wouldn’t you want to do it?

To her, the reasoning was sound. I must have made sense to Adam because he ate as well. They, however, forgot one very important fact, you can’t out-think God.

God knew what this disobedience would entail. He knew the state they existed in and how that knowledge of it would change everything for them. Their innocence would be lost. God had been protecting them not limiting them. Now in order to protect them, they would have to be removed from Eden. Life would become a whole lot harder for everyone involved.

Folks today are still making the same mistake, thinking they can outthink God. They will ‘learn’ themselves right out of the church. They will reason their way out of heaven. They will conclude a way to disobey God commands and still be right. Assuming if it makes sense to them, then it must be how God thinks as well.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

Let never be so arrogant that we think ourselves on par with God. Even if it does make sense to us, doesn’t mean it isn’t the right way. God wants us to think, to reason, to grow, to learn but we will never become so smart that we can outsmart God!

Comments

Until Midnight

In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

The Mighty Gulf

It is hard to get people on two sides of an issue to come together. Each has their own viewpoint, their perceptive, their own foibles, their own understanding. To gain any common ground there must be something in common. Something or someone that can bridge the gulf between the two. Could there be a greater gulf than there was between God and man? How could a holy perfect God find a way to connect to the fallen, imperfect mankind? How can one without temptation connect to those who are beset by it? How could limited mortal beings understand an omnipotent eternal God? In 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, “ For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus .” The phrase mediator here describes a person that bridges the gap, a go-between. Jesus was one who could stand in both worlds. A perfect holy one who can understand our temptations, a man who would die yet live eternally, One who was God yet became flesh and dwelt among us. ...

How Dare You!

Lewis Keseberg was tired of all the accusations against him so he filed a defamation lawsuit against Ned Coffeemeyer the man he saw as responsible for the rumors. The court found that Ned had indeed called Keseberg a “thief and murderer” without any proof but it didn’t rule very strongly in his favor by only imposing a fine of one dollar. Maybe they were lenient because Ned Coffeemeyr had earlier rescued Lewis Keseberg from a terrible situation. Maybe it was because the accusations while not proven were highly likely. And maybe because Lewis Keseberg had admitted to eating people. Lewis Keseberg was one of the members of the infamous Donner Party, a wagon train that got caught in the Siera Nevada mountain and resorted to cannibalism to survive. Keseberg wasn’t known as a very good person before those events and they certainly didn’t help improve his image. But to sue the very person who saved you seems to define the kind of person he was....

Ecclesiastes 12:10

Search This Blog