Reason and Resolution

"Come now, and let us reason together," saith the Lord, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Is 1:18 (KJV)

"Surely our griefs He Himself bore.....But He was pierced through for our iniquities....He was oppressed and afflicted yet He did not open His mouth......like a sheep that is silent to its shearers.....Yet He himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors." Excerpts from Is 53 (NASB)

Anyone who knows me, is well aware of my love for reading. As busy as life can get I always manage to sneak books into my life. I recently started reading 'The Greatest Generation Speaks: Letters and Reflections'. It is a compilation of letters and stories from WWII veterans, the compiler himself is not a Believer, but this book has started me thinking about the difference between the society of that last great generation and the society we live in today. And about why it was the last great generation. And what about those past generations was great.
We live in a it's-all-about-me-and-how-I feel-in-the-moment kind of society. Feelings have become our basis for reasoning, and Christians are not excluded from this.
The great generations of old, yes were sinners and still practised selfishness, but they still had something that we lack in our society today. Reason and Resolution.
(For those fellow dictionary lovers):
Reason is the explanation of an act, idea; cause or motive; the ability to think, draw conclusions, good sense, and the verb is to think logically
Resolution-Resolute is to be fixed and firm in purpose; determined
I'm also currently reading 'Mere Christianity' by C.S. Lewis, this work is a near perfect example of how to live a life for Christ with reason. The same goes for any Biblically accurate theologian, their works beautifully draw conclusions from logical thinking and give an explanation for their acts. This resulting in a powerfully unhindered passion for the Lord.
Not a passion of today which is an outward display of emotion, but a passion deeply rooted in the knowledge of the promises of God.
The perfect display of reason is found in the Lord Himself. As displayed in Is 1:18(listed above) the Lord resolves the question of our salvation through reason. Often the church of today depends upon a feeling to secure the satisfaction of "knowing" they're saved. But this is living in direct contradiction to the word of our great God and Savior. Unless I am mistaken and Isaiah hadn't cleaned his ears in a while and Is 1:18 was supposed to read, "And you will feel like your sins are as scarlet, then you will overwhelmingly feel the power of my spirit and you will feel as white as snow...." since I highly doubt this to be the case, considering God probably would have had Isaiah fix that big of an error, we shall adhere to pondering over the reasoning our Lord has laid before us.
(Do not be mistaken there will probably be emotions, which is not wrong God Himself wove the capacity for us to have emotions, but they fade in and out and can change easily and therefore are not a reliable guide.)
One of my favorite books is Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper. It's a pathetic looking book only 76 pages and a dictionary is unnecessary, but none-the-less this book packs quite the punch! As soon as I started reading it I couldn't put it down, the Resolution in this man's life put me in a state of awe and still continues to do so. He was Determined to fight for the abolition of slavery for 46 years of his life (from 21 to 65 yrs old) even though he was defeated 11 times and did not hear of a decisive victory until 3 days before his death. But he fought for the glory of the Lord knowing that in the His eyes slavery was wrong.
But again this is not the perfect example of resolution. For that we must turn our eyes to Christ. Is 53 paints the horror and beauty of Christ's death for us. He was resolved He spent more than 46 years on the cause to save us from eternal separation from Him, He foreknew in eternity past of what He was to do. To know of such great pain and to not avoid it for the glory of the Father.....it is beyond me.
Finally, if God Himself is both Reasonable and Resolute and we are called as Christians to be Christ-like than should we not also be both Reasonable and Resolute in our walk with Him?