When Things Don't Make Sense

We mentioned a poker night last week which included a lengthy discussion about what God can and cannot do. One man asked if God is all-powerful, "why can't He make a rock He cannot lift?"

"How do you know He hasn't?" we answered. The man admitted he didn't know. Other people around the table noted some of the things which seemed like absurd "science fiction" 100 years ago now are reality. (No one brought up online poker as an example, but we could have.)

"I think logically," the man insisted -- and this raises an interesting question: is God a logical God? Does He do things in a sensible way, or doesn't He?

Some people point to the creation account in Genesis 1 as evidence that the Creator worked in a logical way. Other ministers note a long list of parallels between the life of Joseph in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament.

But what about the moments which defy scientific explanation? Our logical thinker cited this case....

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. - Matthew 14:25-26

"Low tide" was how the man at the table explained this. Jesus waited until the tide was low, to merely give the appearance He was walking on water.

The water in this case was the Sea of Galilee, which can be 141 feet deep in spots. A parallel passage in John 6:16-19 indicates Jesus took His famous walk while the disciples' boat was at least three miles from shore!

Would low tide really reduce the water level in the middle of a lake that much? The largest recorded tidal swing is only 52 feet. So the logic of physics says no -- thus showing how God (even in the person of Jesus) can defy logic to accomplish what He wishes.

We should note logic doesn't always work in poker, either. How many players (including us one night last week) have lost winning hands, when someone hit running clubs or hearts to make a flush?

We noted to this man that some things mentioned in Scripture ultimately are a matter of faith. As an Old Testament prophet put it:

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:9

On this day marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, we'd note God expresses some of His ways clearly in Scripture. If you follow those ways faithfully, maybe some things which seem illogical will start to make sense.