Errors of Reason
Mark 8:14–17
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.
15 Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."
16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."
17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?
Our response to the words of Christ is typically one of reasoning. We view what He says in light of who we are, and what we have. Such erroneous thoughts lead us to misinterpretation and wrong conclusions. The disciples thought that Jesus was correcting their thoughtlessness and exposing their lack of provision. This was so far from the intent of Jesus' words. He was instructing them regarding their mindsets and preparing them for the future. All they could see, however, was their need and their failure.
Sadly, we often find ourselves in the same dilemma. Words that are meant to encourage and strengthen us are received as indictments against our performance. Instructions for our future are interpreted as exposure of our past. No wonder Jesus tells us to be careful how we hear!
Jesus, in response to the disciples, asks, “Why do you reason because you have no bread?” Their response to His words was to reason. Their response to lack was the same. Like us, their minds would have searched for excuses, devised plans, and made mental notes to avoid future embarrassment. Such reasoning however inevitably takes us from Him, rather than draws us to Him.
The mind is a powerful tool. It is meant to serve us, not control us. It is an expert at reasoning but is easily trapped within the rut of previous experiences and the confines of our own perceptions. It therefore processes the new in light of the old. It adjusts what we hear to fit within the confines of what we understand. Like the disciples interpreting leaven in the context of their bread supplies, we take what is spoken and adjust it to our understanding and experience. The result is the accommodation of truth, rather than the transformation that truth is designed to bring. No wonder Jesus asked, “Do you not perceive or understand?” In other words, “Do you lack the mental framework that enables you to receive what I say? Have the ways of My kingdom failed to adjust your concepts, so you can hear accurately what I am releasing to you?” The answers to such questions are revealed by whether we reason with His words, or receive His words.
As always, Jesus exposes the root of the issue by then asking, “Is your heart hardened?” The condition of the heart determines what we can receive. When our heart is hard, we fail to embrace truth. A hard heart does not allow the seed of the word to penetrate within. What is spoken is therefore lost or applied to external situations rather than internal realities.
A soft heart enables us to hear well and embrace His words even when our minds do not fully understand. A soft heart says, “yes,” and then allows the revelation to settle. A soft heart recognizes that He knows all and holds all. It is willing to live with mystery, walk in uncertainty and embrace the ambivalent.
Mark 8:18
Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
We have been given all that we need to receive. We have eyes to see and ears to hear, but we can be blinded and made deaf by the response of our own heart. As revealed through the parable of the soils, the fate of the seed is not determined by the seed itself, but the soil of the heart in those who hear. Jesus then asked a powerful question, “Do you not remember?” For those who cannot see and do not hear, there is another avenue available to increase our awareness of truth and the ways of God - the power of remembering. Our past experiences with God are to teach us regarding the ways of God.
Jesus speaks of the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand. In both cases He asks the disciples how many full baskets of fragments they took up. Why? Why did He focus on the picking up of leftovers, rather than the people who were fed? I believe Jesus was seeking to highlight their experience, not His. He wanted to impact their perception of provision and not just recall the feeding of hungry people. The acts of God are to shape who we are. The simple act of remembering had the power to alter their perception of what could be. Even when we feel limited in our ability to see and hear the things of God, we can always remember. Our history with God tells us what He is like. Every encounter, when stewarded well, keeps our heart soft and ready to receive.
Don’t fall for the error of reasoning. Remember well, keep your heart soft, and embrace what He says, even if at first you do not understand.
Consider:
Do you tend to hear His words as addressing what you lack, or promoting your potential?
Is your default to reason, and adjust the Word of God to fit within your own concepts, or do you allow the Word to adjust your perception of what is true and real?
What does your history in God reveal to you regarding who He is, and who you are in Him?
