logic

Well Meaning

“It shall be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

1 Kings 17:4

There have been occasions when I have asked my wife a question but, instead of answering the question I asked, she has answered a question she thought I meant to ask. We are quite different people when it comes to conversation. This can be very helpful or, as in this case, a little frustration to me. My usual response is something like, “Please just answer the question I asked.” My wife’s response to that is something like, “Well I thought you really meant ….” Perhaps we cause a little frustration for the Lord when we treat His word that way.

Imagine if Elijah had done that with the word of the Lord on this occasion in 1 Kings 17? He would have said that the Lord could not have meant what He said because a raven could not sustain him with enough food. It’s impossible! Later the Lord sent him to a widowed Gentile woman who, with her son, was on the verge of starvation. How could she provide for him? It’s impossible!

The Bible is replete with these kinds of situations where people received a word or command from the Lord and they must take His words in the normal literary sense even when what He was asking seemed impossible. What if Moses had refused to return to Egypt because he interpreted the Lord’s command on the basis of what he thought possible? What of Joshua being commanded to march around Jericho thirteen times to bring down the walls. No, the Lord couldn’t mean that because it was illogical and impossible. When Jesus sent men to obtain the colt of a donkey that was ready and waiting for them they could have decided that a donkey already broken in would be better and safer risk for their Master. Well meaning but wrong.

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews mentions many men and women who took God at His word and acted upon it without interpreting it through a grid of what is logical and possible, or that there may be a better and safer way.

Seven times in his letters Paul writes to the effect that he didn’t want his readers to be ignorant of some truth, so he wrote plainly. That is how God writes. Twice in 1st Thessalonians he writes for his readers to be comforted by what he has written (1 Thess. 4:18; 5:11). Unless his words were intended to be taken in their normal literary sense there would be no real comfort at all. God wants to communicate truth not confuse the truth.

Shipwrecked

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” Matthew 7:13-14

A few decades ago when living in Port Pirie, South Australia it was not unusual for me to take my fourteen foot bond-wood boat with putt-putt motor out into Spencer Gulf for a spot of crabbing or fishing. The gulf was relatively shallow so far north but that was not a concern for my boat. However, there was a lead smelting industry in Port Pirie and they needed large ships to be able to berth and take on board the lead. To accomplish this, a channel had been dredged from deeper water, a kilometre or two from shore, right up to the dock. This was marked by lights and signs on marker posts.

Ships coming into port must stay between the markers or they would most certainly run aground. To navigate this channel required care and concentration as it was not a particularly wide channel and neither was it straight. Any captain who ignored the markers would soon lose his ship.

There are essentially only two ways that we might seek to live our lives and please God. The broad way that leads to destruction is the one that ignores or disregards the markers in God’s word. At Port Pirie the markers were to inform the ship’s captain where it was safe to navigate and where there was danger. If we ignore our Creator’s markers and navigate where it is unsafe we can hardly expect to avoid the dangers and we will make shipwreck of our lives.

Most people will rely on human logic and in so doing make a fatal choice. Since Adam’s sin mankind has had a faulty logic. In Proverbs we read, “There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death” (14:12, 16:9) and “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes but the Lord weighs the spirits” (16:2). A captain who chooses not to follow the markers and take a short cut will run aground.

The broad way is the way that seems right to people but in following that way they miss the truth and make shipwreck of their lives. They have missed the warning markers in God’s word. The narrow way is the way that follows God’s warning markers and remains in the safe channel.

It is tragic that we observe people and nations making shipwreck of life because they have ignored God’s word and revelation in the Bible. It is even more tragic that many deliberately and defiantly rebel against God’s word. It does not bode well for our nation and it robs people of the blessing they might otherwise have had from the Lord.

If we are not to make shipwreck of our lives, either personally or nationally, we will do well to know the safety markers God has given us in His word and enjoy the freedom that we have within them.

My Way or His Way?

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes but the Lord weighs the heart” Proverbs 21:2

Generally people will do what they believe is right or at least that which seems best for them in the circumstances in order to achieve their objective. This proverb reminds us that we do not have a true motive or correct understanding without input from our Creator. By what measure are we to evaluate our thoughts, motives and actions?

Jesus Christ is the only measure that will ultimately matter and we can check ourselves against Him as we read, study and meditate God’s word. Only God has faithful motives and understanding intrinsically. As we continually invite Him to lead and teach us His ways He will renew our minds in accordance with His own nature, word and will.

The following proverb also says much the same; “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes but the Lord weighs the spirits (Proverbs 16:2). When we are called to account we do our best to justify ourselves. We may plead limited knowledge or blame someone else but that will not wash with God who “weighs the heart.”

There are consequences for not checking that the path we are on will get us to the destination we desire; “There is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). The Bible tells us many times in varying ways that if we continue to trust our own assessments, understanding and logic without checking against the measure God has provided, we will be disappointed when we arrive at our destination. It will not be the one we desire. Many people say they hope to make it to heaven but fail to ensure they are on the right path for that destination. That cannot be the attitude of a wise person.

A wise person will ensure that the path they are on will lead to their desired destination. Not to do so would be like a person who gets on a bus without checking it is going to their desired destination. I have witnessed people do this many times and the moment of discovery always reveals considerable disappointment.

The lack of certainty that a person is on the right path to their desired destination robs them of joy on the journey. That is really sad because God desires that we know and are assured of our eternal destiny (1 John 5:13) and that is an essential aspect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sound counsel is given in Proverbs 3:5, 6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” Hoping we are on the right path will not give us joy or peace.

These proverbs and many others tell us that only a foolish person will trust his own reason or logic and dismiss God’s word. We will have confidence and assurance when we trust in God’s promises and word.

The proverbs quoted in this article are given to ensure we discover the right path to our desired destination and know the peace and joy that come with that knowledge. When we do we will confidently enjoy the journey of life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).