Acts 18:18-23

I love how the Scripture says Paul didn’t come to argue with the Jews; he came to reason with them. It reminds me of the words of God in Isaiah 1:18-20 NASB1995:

““Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be devoured by the sword.”
Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭20‬

Reasoning is like saying, "Come. Let's talk this through." It is two-sided; it is cordial. God even uses the word together. It is important for people to come to the table and discuss their differences in the hope of arriving at a mutual understanding. Unfortunately, today there seems to be little appetite for coming to the table. Instead, people take sides. Rather than sitting down to talk, they'd rather go out behind the shed and duke it out.

There is Truth, and we are all on varying sides of our understanding of it. It wouldn't hurt to have a conversation or two to resolve our differences, yet people become so entrenched in their truth that they can no longer see things from another perspective.

Paul certainly encountered this attitude time and time again, but that didn't stop him, and it shouldn't stop us either.

Hear God's heart through Isaiah: "If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land, but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." This is an immutable truth. It is not that God simply has to have things His way—He is the Way. To follow any other course ultimately leads to destruction. How often people misread the heart of God.

Though God is infinitely more than this illustration, consider Him as an interpreter and guide in a foreign land. When I traveled to Japan for golf tournaments, I always had an interpreter who helped facilitate the trip. I never questioned what they told me because they knew far more than I did. Without their help, I would have been completely lost in a foreign country.

In many ways, we are living in a foreign land. God has given us an Interpreter in the person of the Holy Spirit, yet so many prefer to navigate life on their own, resulting in countless wrong turns and unnecessary detours. If we would simply consent and obey, we would enjoy the very best of what God has prepared for us.

Sometimes we simply need to be reasonable—willing to come to the table, willing to listen, willing to be taught, and willing to follow the One who knows the way.