Day 207 - Isaiah 1-5

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 207 - Isaiah 1-5 (Do Christians Have Blind Faith?)
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       "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. 
        If you are willing and obedient, 
        You shall eat the good of the land; 
        But if you refuse and rebel, 
        You shall be devoured by the sword"; 
        For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
        (Isaiah 1:18-20) 

Some critics of Christians say that we practice blind faith.  What they really mean to say is that Christians do not use their reason in their faith.  Nothing can be further, however, from true Christianity.  The God of the Bible invites us humans to reason together with Him!  God is a reasonable God who wants reasonable followers; not blind followers who do not understand why they believe what they believe.

There are many religions and philosophies today that teach the unsuspecting that believe in yourself or in something or whatever as long as it makes you happy or makes you feel good.  And so they follow their senses to whatever can give them pleasure or excitement or a mystical experience.  They cannot really explain why they believe what they believe but only that they feel a sort of "oneness" with the universe or something.

In our text above, God is proposing to His sinful people, the Jews, a reasonable offer:  "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." There is one condition, though, they must be "willing and obedient".  Count me in God - that sounds like a very reasonable offer to me.

The alternative which God gives to the Israelites if they are not willing to obey God is found in verse 20: "But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."  I would think that any reasonable person would choose to obey God and be cleansed of his sins and those who refuse are the ones who are unreasonable.

I used to give my children a similar proposal when they were younger.  I would tell them that they have a choice; they could be rewarded for obeying me or they could suffer a punishment for disobedience.  I think it was a reasonable offer and they often chose to obey rather than suffer punishment.  

To those who say that Christians have blind faith, I challenge them to read the whole Bible and then try to arrive at the same conclusion.  I am confident that they will never again say that Christians have blind faith.