How can a centuries-old and already familiar truth revitalize us in a fresh way? Why does the doctrine of the Trinity, for example, set our hearts racing with excitement when it’s presented well?
There are many reasons that sound doctrine is good; not least of these reasons is the fact that it makes sense.
YHWH is the source of all things that make sense. The Lord Himself is sensible. His revelation of Himself in the person of Jesus, recorded in Scripture, is the most sensible thing. The knowledge of His character guides us into a more sensible (and worshipful) way of life.
Sometimes such a way of life seems impossible. The curse of sin has led the world into disorder, chaos, and non-sense. I often find myself tempted to complain to God that “The world just doesn’t make sense!” To which I expect He might be responding, “Yes! That’s the point! The world, down to your natural pattern of thinking, has departed from My coherent design!”
By His grace, even the burden of the world’s current incoherence can point us back to Him. We groan with all creation, subjected to frustration, not knowing what to pray for – but the Spirit of the One Who Makes Sense intercedes for us and interprets our wordless noise into something… sensible.
Because God ultimately makes sense, when the Father asks us to do something that doesn’t appear to make sense, we can trust that He has not abandoned an aspect of His character. When the Spirit stirs us to obey a seemingly insane direction, we know that it’s only our own short-sightedness making it seem that way. We imitate the Son who, in perfect revelation of God, laid down His life in order to achieve victory, power, and authority. That is nonsense, by any other standard. All praise to the God who makes sense!
N.D. Storms 