A new kind of reasoning

This should not be a big deal, but when my adult son asked if I would commit to baby-sitting my grandson on Wednesdays, I made my decision by reasoning it through the way I thought father Abraham might have reasoned it-that is, by factoring miracle into my assessment.

I normally would have made a straightforward application of the familiar Bible principles of responsible time stewardship. I would have considered the list of my present responsibilities, and then number of hours in a day, and would have arrived, quasi-mathematically, at the conclusion that the proposal is "impossible." Sorry, Jae.

This is inadequate reasoning for a Christian. Christian reasoning is always reasoning with a Person, not principles. And reasoning with a person is a thing richer and creative and surprising. It leaps beyond the empirical data. And when the Person with whom one has to do is the Almighty God, right reasoning makes room for miracle.

Abraham received a tougher request than mine. "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, … and … sacrifice him…as a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:2). A strict, as-the-crow-flies application of all the principles he could muster would have availed Abraham little.

To my great edification, Abraham took his starting point with a Person, not a principle. And starting with what he knew of that Person's character yielded a revolutionary kind of reasoning: Hmm, Abraham reasoned, I guess this means God is going to raise my son from the dead (Hebrews 11:19).

As insanely as Abraham, I thought to myself when Jae asked me for my Wednesdays: Hmm, I'm really busy, but if God wants me to give my Wednesdays to my grandson, I guess that means He plans to make me more productive on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.