A reasonable heart is reserved for those who have beheld the glory of Christ and are being conformed into His image. As we grow in the wisdom of God and by the power of the Spirit, we find that the most sensible people are those given to the truth and an utter dependence upon the Lord.
The world has undoubtedly become more polarized, especially over the last few years. Extremes abound, but what’s more, so do every opinion, every thought, and every hot take. All things are analyzed, and all analysis is expressed. The way people perceive reality circulates in bite-sized pieces scattered across social platforms and carefully crafted headlines. Being the case, it has become increasingly difficult and frustrating to make sense of the things going on around us.
This is 2021. Hard to make sense of, hard to reason with, hard to understand. You’ve dealt with all of it. Friends who exaggerate every current event that comes up on their social media feed. That one uncle who keeps posting about how we can save America if we just vote for _______. The many doomsday prophets on social media who view life and the world like its spinning out of control. In our day and age, opinions solidify into doctrines. And hearts turn into stone as people seek to convince each other of their new-found, religious beliefs.
Unfortunately, many believers respond in these same ways when faced with life’s chaos. We too are prone to hot-tempered attitudes, unfiltered responses, and quick-fix views on how to navigate the present. But such responses from the people of God do not equate with what is reasonable for those who live in light of a sovereign and presently reigning King. The challenge for us is to think, what is a reasonable response to life with all its curveballs and relentless insanity? And what does a life given to reasonableness look like?
Use it in a Sentence
In hoping to answer that question, my mind has continuously drawn back to a favorite passage by the apostle Paul, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone” (Phil. 4:5).
The word that is translated for us as “reasonable” carries the connotation of appropriate. It is a stable mindset, a temperament that avoids extremes. It is a heart that responds aptly to life’s circumstances. In that sense we can most clearly understand the word-choice in most Bibles of “reasonable”: it denotes that one expresses himself in a way that is appropriate for the situation. And before a believer assesses the things going around him, he lives with a constant and keen awareness that all things are ushered on earth only insofar as they have been commissioned by the Ruler of heaven. The most reasonable person is the one that lives in view of God’s dominion.
Father-dependent, Jesus-bought, Spirit-indwelt believers should develop a mind that accepts the sovereignty and providence of a living King and thereby is resolved to receive all things in this life with a meekness that models the Savior, no matter what may come.
In other words, Christians ought to be reasonable. Our sense of reason is not based on science or politics, it is based on faith and truth. Thus, Christians are those who respond humbly to all thing because of God’s promises, wisdom, and truth.
Serious question: did you respond in pandemic times as if Jesus is on the throne or as if Jesus’s throne was under threat? Did riots and looting bring out more of a right-wing, left-wing, or Jesus-like Christian? Has your heart exhibited deepened anxiety, fear, and angst toward the world or an ever-growing, ever-lovely trust and dependency in God?
The answer to such questions should be simple, but I’m afraid the precedent is being set for Christians today to become CRT and medical experts rather than develop quiet, peaceable lives. In a world full of extremists, it is paramount that the Christian be the most given to reasonableness. Our level-headed and gentle-spirit matters, and in this article, I would like to highlight that in three unique ways.