In our meeting with Chris & Natalie yesterday, one of the key lesson for me is that God values our ability to think and reason as part of our relationship with Him. The gift of intellect is a crucial part of what it means to be human and to have a relationship with God. He gave us the ability to think, reason, and choose.
The book of Acts 17:27 reveals that God created humans with the purpose that they “would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.” The Bible emphasises the importance of wisdom and understanding in discerning right from wrong.
In Prov 2:6 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” The ability to think critically and make moral decisions is central to fulfilling God’s will and living according to His commandments.
We are given the ability to think so we could seek and understand Him. In Isaiah 1:18, God invites His people, saying, “Come now, let us reason together.”
Only humans are endowed with the capacity to think, so we could freely choose to love, obey, and worship God. Deut 30:19-20 presents a choice to the Israelites, encouraging them to “choose life” by loving and obeying God. This choice requires thought, discernment, and an understanding of the consequences of one’s decisions.
God has given us the ability to think so we could reflect His image, make moral choices, seek and know Him, exercise free will, and fulfil our purpose in creation.
The story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 shows the use of human intellect and free will. When the serpent tempted Eve, she saw that the fruit was “good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom” (Gen 3:6). She made a decision based on her reasoning, although it was flawed. This story highlights how God gave humans the ability to think and choose, even when that choice leads to disobedience.
When God appeared to Solomon in a dream and offered to give him anything he asked for, Solomon requested “a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong” (1 Kings 3:9). God was pleased with this request and granted him wisdom, which he then used to make just decisions, like the famous judgement involving two women claiming to be the mother of the same baby (1 Kings 3:16-28).
God does not take over your thinking faculties when you become a Christian; He accentuates and aids it by adding further capacities. The word of God refocuses and illuminates our minds. The spirit of discerment is crucial but doesn’t replace thorough ruminating and pondering over facts and information.
“But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Heb 5:14). You see, there is a process of developing spiritual maturity and discernment through practice and exercising one’s mind. Brethren, let us ask God to transform us by the renewal of our mind—to focus our thinking and intellect to build and enable us to seek and glorify Him.
Related topic …Seek Wisdom
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kay.alli@legalview.co.uk