There is a sensible reality about religion that requires our serious attention. Christianity challenges us to be logical and forthright in our commitments. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus makes sense, and He wants us to use it as a sensible approach to life. Religious events are not to be tested by the ridiculous and the unusual. Just because something cannot be explained does not necessarily make it a sign from God. We must be careful that we do not claim more for God than He is willing to do. In our religious excitement and zeal, we must be careful that we do not over advertise God as a catch-all, cure-all and save-all regardless of the circumstances.

It is good and proper to brag on God because there is nothing He cannot do if He chooses. The key to understanding God's involvement in human affairs is an appreciation of the freedom in which He chooses to operate. It is not our prerogative to program God into the kind of activity we desire. It is wrong, however good our intentions, to leave the impression with unsuspecting souls that God is a "fairy tale godfather" who will grant their every wish. It is a matter of spiritual integrity that we present a responsible theology of what God will and will not do.

So many people have given up on God simply because He did not do for them what they wanted Him to do when they wanted Him to do it. Such reactions often come from a shallow theology that ignore cross bearing, the will of God, commitment and honest discipleship. This kind of "Mother Goose" religion is sung to us in some of today's religious songs. It is written to us in some "do it yourself" religious paperbacks designed to sell books rather than interpret the sacrificial demands of Jesus.

Of course none of us is wise enough to give a perfect explanation as to why God doesn't do everything we ask. For this reason we must be careful not to say more about God than we know, lest we miss the mind of the Almighty. Hopefully, we are sensible enough to know that He has our best interest at heart in the way He performs His will. It is a matter of wisdom that we trust God to be God and allow life to flow more as a matter of obedience than explanation.