Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isa 1:18 (NKJV)

Part 1 – Gimme One Reason

Isaiah had a vision, and in this vision God invited him to come and “reason” with him. The NLT says “Let’s settle this,” The MSG says “Let’s argue it out” and the AMP says “Let’s reason together.”

Can you reason with God?

You can reason with God.

Sometimes, we throw out comments like “you just gotta have faith!” when we can’t explain or comprehend an issue, an idea, a thought, experience, a happening… We use faith to fill the gap created by our lack of understanding and we leave it at that. But God invites discussion, reasoning together, the exchange of ideas and thoughts – critical thinking is included and digging out answers is important.

In Matthew 5 Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We often interpret this as bringing flavour and revealing truth. Which is true. But what happens when you eat salt? What does it do to your mouth, throat and stomach?

Salt brings on thirst, which makes you go in search of water.

What if being the salt of the earth meant making people thirsty, causing them to search for water, to dig deep for understanding and ask more challenging questions? God isn’t afraid of questions, they’re not his kryptonite. He understands and expects that we would have questions to ask. After all, he is divinely mysterious, lives in eternity and represents the infinite. If we have all the answers and can package him up nicely with a neat little bow, wouldn’t that mean we’ve contained the uncontainable?

We house God in our bodies, our humble jars of clay… When we have questions, he is close enough to hear them, to be asked… to talk and converse. To exchange fear for love and worry and for thankfulness. We may not always get the answers we want when we ask the hard questions, but we have the confidence and satisfaction that we asked them, that we dug deep and that we are willing to journey humbly down the path of the unknown.

What if ‘being light’ means illuminating the hard questions? Putting everything on the table? Showing our hand? What if it meant combining reason and faith to unfold deeper revelations and more beautiful nuances of the grace and love of God? Faith leads us to question, not to silence.

When I look back at the history of the Christian faith, I see an unfolding story. A journey filled with beauty and heartache. Joy and persecution. Love and agony. There doesn’t appear to be a 5-point plan to success that has lasted through the generations. What has persevered is humanities hunger for something more than the material; the pursuit of what lies just beyond our grasp and connects us to the divine and his realm of love and light.

I see progress built upon progress. I see forward motion and a desire to search for more. To discover and uncover greater truths and deeper revelations. Quenching the thirsty hearts and souls.

And there is a living water for that thirst.

So when God the divine says, “Let us reason together…” Pull all your questions and heartaches and hopes and ideas and plans out of your pocket, pull up a chair and sit at his table.

Go to Part 2 – God, Snow and the Power of Shame