Preston Gillham - Author

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Why Would God

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God is irrational.

You are too. So am I.

When I say God is irrational, I mean that in one sense He is illogical because He defies predictability. You and I are like this as well.

It was irrational of me to tell Dianne I loved her, to pledge my loyalty and faithfulness to her in sickness, bad times, and until death parts us. Why would I sign up for that duty? It was irrational.

“Love is irrational,” you declare. “It’s also blind.” You say this with conviction—and you are right, but that doesn’t make love logical.  

Courage, trust, faith, loyalty. Like love, these are also irrationalities. But this is what makes them powerful.

Courage: I risk my wellbeing and better judgment for a higher good. Trust: I continue to believe when it appears unwise to do so. Faith: I can’t prove my confidence, but I’m confident anyway. Loyalty: You disappointed me, and will do so again, but I’m going to stick with you. Love: I do.

Friends build relationships rooted in self-sacrifice, courage, loyalty, trust, and belief. It is irrational and un-provable. But it is observable.

God is similar. These fidelities we share that escape logic help us understand aspects of our heavenly Father that make no logical sense but aid in bonding us together.

He chooses relationship over instruction, serendipity over predictability, and often He opts for irrationality over rationality. For example: Isaiah quotes Him saying, “Come. Let’s sit down and reason together” (cf. Is. 1:18). Discuss what? An irrational proposition. Nevertheless, “Come here. I want to have an argument with you over an impossibility.”

Why would He do that?

The only explanation is His great love.

God’s grace is magnificent. But given the magnitude of our fallen predicament, grace makes sense. The logic of justification can be laid out, and Paul does just this in Romans 5:12ff.

It is the matter of why God is considering justification for us in the first place that makes no sense. This consideration isn’t grace.

This is God’s mercy on display.

Unlike grace, God’s mercy makes no sense whatsoever. Why would He extend mercy to me? I wouldn’t, if I were in His shoes.

But, He does. And the only explanation is His great love.

I’m grateful, but this still makes no more sense than a wedding.

Why would God? Because He desires to love, not because it makes sense.