When God invites us to reason together with Him, He invites us to think about something that makes plain sense. When men are given over to what they call the pursuit of reason, they are often trying to manufacture something that doesn’t make sense except to a select few.
God stoops and offers to wash all our sins away. We arch our necks, standing on tip-toe, pretending that we don’t know what sin is exactly.
It is in this sense that grace passes reason—not because grace is irrational, but rather because rationalism is often irrational. Why would it not be reasonable for God, being infinite love as He is, to forgive the sins of miserable creatures such as we are?
Why would it not be reasonable for such creatures to take up His offer. Come, He says, let us reason together. Though your sins are like scarlet, He will make them white as snow. When it comes down to the point, it is not even a question of serving in Heaven or ruling in Hell, as Milton’s Satan put it. It is rather a choice between serving in Hell or ruling in Heaven, and only the impudence of arrogant pride could possibly twist this offer into a trap to be suspicious of.
The reason we are suspicious is that God will take us to Heaven, but He will not allow us to take our pride. And our pride is our precious.