Devotionals

Transformed Reasoning

by Cheryl Weber
07/29/16
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God’s goodness was flowing. Jesus had just told a paralyzed man his sins were forgiven. And now Jesus was ready to heal him.

Over in the peanut gallery, the Pharisees and teachers of Jewish religious law grumbled. “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” (Luke 5:21 NLT)

Jesus confronted them. “Okay. You say only God can forgive sins but you don’t believe I have come from him. I am going to show you my authority as the Son of God by not only forgiving but healing this man.”

The religious leaders claimed to long for the Messiah. In reality, many were interested only in maintaining control over the people and preserving their religious positions and political power. Any threat to this agenda was to be eliminated. Their reasoning was filtered through the dirt of their own sins. They were blind to God in their midst and missed true power, salvation, and life.

Trust in Jesus does not require us to forsake reason and logic. Plenty of evidence exists for the validity of the Christian faith if we are willing to seek with open, honest minds and hearts. Many intelligent, highly-educated people both today and down through the ages have accepted Christianity as the truth.

When we yield ourselves to Christ in repentance, he transforms our minds and our reasoning. (Romans 12:2) His Holy Spirit causes the “eyes of our hearts to be opened” (Ephesians 1:18) so that we can see the beauty and power of Jesus and understand the truth that guides us to an eternal life of peace, joy and real hope.