Yesterday, people all around our nation gathered to pray. They jointly called on the power of God to bless our nation, to protect us, to pour out His wisdom on our leaders. We prayed that God would shed His light on us, and show us the best way to respond to issues like higher taxes, education, the environment, and war.
But another group of people rallied yesterday. You see, the National Day of Prayer shares the calendar spot with the National Day of Reason. A statement on the website for NDoR says, “On May 3, humanists and other freethinkers will be opposing National Day of Prayer by celebrating reason!” I had to read that quote a couple of times to let its message sink in.
My overwhelming response, as I thought about those words was, “Why can’t we celebrate both?” After all, God isn’t opposed to reason. He created our minds, He created the way we think, and He is the source of all wisdom. He encourages us to use every available resource, to weigh all the information, and to be reasonable.
How can we celebrate reason by opposing the Creator of reason?
God urges us in Isaiah 1:18, “Come, let us reason together.” Many times in His word, He urges us to seek Him, to study Him, and to weigh all the evidence. Reason things out, friends, and I believe you’ll come to the same conclusion that many thousands of others have come to. It is reasonable to have faith in God.
“But you have no proof,” you may say.
Actually, yes, I do. In any court of law, if enough trustworthy people testify to the reality of something, it is concluded to be true. It may not remove all doubt, but enough testimony serves to remove reasonable doubt. I am far from perfect, but ask anyone who knows me. I’m pretty trustworthy. I know God is real because I’ve seen Him work in my life. I know He is real because I’ve felt His presence when I thought I had no one. I know He is real because I talk to Him every single day, and He talks back. And I’m just one of many who will tell you the same thing.
But don’t take my word for it. And don’t take anyone else’s word, for that matter. God is big enough for your questions, your arguments, your denials. Trust me—I’ve been there. He welcomes your honest, reasonable inquiries. Ask Him to show Himself to you, and keep looking for the truth. I’m not saying He’ll come to you in a lightning bolt. But He tells us in Jeremiah 29:13 that we’ll find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts.
But I digress. My purpose in writing this article is not to oppose your right to celebrate reason, or your right to reject a life of faith. My purpose in this article is not to oppose anything. Instead, I’d like to embrace and celebrate reason along with you. By all means, let’s study and research and learn and use every available piece of knowledge to make wise choices. Amen to that.
If you don’t mind, though, I’ll add one thing to my celebration. While I’m doing all those things we just mentioned, I’m also going to seek wisdom from the Source of all wisdom. I’ve tried making decisions without Him, and I’ve tried it with Him. I can say from experience, He’s never steered me wrong.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you,” James 1:5.
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