From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God. Self cannot satisfy self. We must hunger for God.
This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God. Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.
“No matter how we rationalize, God will sometimes seem unfair from the perspective of a person trapped in time…Not until history has run its course will we understand how ‘all things work together for good.” Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.”
—Philip Yancey
Day 9: Fasting Rationalism
Faith is believing and humbly acting like the Word of God is the Truth. Rationalization can involve giving reasons to justify an attitude or action even if we know in our conscience it is wrong—in this case rationalization is a defensive behavior. Rationalism is motivated by the ego [sense of self] in order to vindicate and make things being discussed seem reasonable. Yet, not all questions can be answered with logic or reason—the world that was created by God cannot be governed or judged merely by human reason and evidence. We cannot reason Christ’s pure love or justify our rebellion against it.
People can rationalize most anything; think about the attitude of ‘entitlement’—seen as a right and a sense of deserving special treatment. Presently, there are many human arguments rising based on those seeking to rationalize attitudes or actions, but biblically having an attitude of entitlement is the antithesis of humility, selflessness, or gratitude. We cannot reject the authority of our Creator, because our ego is demanding its own way. We cannot make sense of life without God’s perspective.
Today, we will fast rationalism for the sake of faith in God’s love, because not all things can be understood with the natural mind. Our souls can become stuck in the wrong mindsets if we think life should go according to human standards. For this reason, our minds must be washed and renewed by the Word of God (Ro 12:2).
In our passage today, Jesus knows Judas is going to betray him, because the Way Jesus is leading does not make sense to Judas’ sense of reason or logic. There will be times God’s ways will not make sense to us; that is when faith and revelation must take us further and deeper into the Truth. One day we will look back and understand things better.
John 13:18-30 NLT Jesus Predicts His Betrayal
18 “I am not saying these things to all of you; I know the ones I have chosen. But this fulfills the Scripture that says, ‘The one who eats my food has turned against me.’[shared ‘life’ with me] 19 I tell you this beforehand, so that when it happens you will believe that I am the Messiah [Lord]. 20 I tell you the truth, anyone who welcomes my messenger is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.”
21 Now Jesus was deeply troubled,[in spirit] and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”
22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” 25 So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”
26 Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. 27 When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. 30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night.
Prayer: Lord, when life does not make sense or we find ourselves with a lack of understanding rising within us, we will turn our attention to you, apply faith, and trustyou for the outcomes. We will take a stand against trying to rationalize things we simply cannot and will not understand until you reveal them. Help us to take on a humble, selfless, and grateful attitude, so our actions will bring honor and glory to your name. In Jesus’ name. Amen.