Articles
God's Reason vs. Our Reason
The moment we disagree with an aspect of God’s word, do we exempt those verses, distort them, or find some other way to claim that we know God’s will better than He does?
The ancient Hebrews learned how much can go wrong when man’s wisdom is followed over God’s wisdom. During the time of Jeremiah, he warned the Hebrews often of the Babylonian captivity that was going to befall them. But since it was a time of peace, the Jewish people ignored Jeremiah’s warning. But by chapter forty-two the Jews who had not yet been taken captive were deciding on whether to flee to Egypt. They decided to ask God for His recommendation, and He spoke through Jeremiah, warning the Hebrews of going to Egypt as they had planned. They feared the thought of staying put and living with the Babylonians in captivity and declared Jeremiah a liar. They decided they’d be better off ignoring the “lie” and flee to Egypt, where the grass was greener.
While they were in the land of Egypt, Jeremiah had warned the Hebrews to obey God again. Through man’s logic the Jews determined that during the good times they worshipped idols, so to bring the good times back they should worship them once more. But that is what got the Hebrews into trouble with God in the first place, incurring His wrath upon them! And to add insult to injury, when the wives were asked by Jeremiah why they were sacrificing to idols, they replied that they have been in the right because they were given the authority from their husbands. Thus, is the folly of man’s logic versus God’s, and in the end God’s warning came true. Chaos, death and war did follow the Jews to Egypt.
It is not a popular occurrence to warn a loved one (or anyone for that matter) that they are wrong today. But please, in a loving respectful way, do not be afraid to tell someone that they are not behaving or living in a Scriptural way. Because it is not just a fleeting moment that is at stake, it is the eternal life of a person’s soul. This is why an angel of the Lord appeared to Cornelius. Even though he was kind, generous, and obeyed the Lord along with his house, he was still not baptized. Thus, he remained a good man but not a saved man in the eyes of the Lord. No matter how good or sinful we have been we must repent and be baptized to gain the opportunity to go to heaven. Baptism is not the end-all, be-all either; it is a constant battle everyday to obey and please the Lord over man. But Jesus is our advocate and it is through his sacrifice on the cross that we have hope. It is never too late to choose the Lord, and everyday we will be better for it.
Inspired by: Jeremiah 42-44; Acts 10:1-4, 44-48; Acts 11:13-14; Mark 12:18-27
