Thought for Today
Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.
Isaiah 14:26 This is the plan that is planned concerning the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.
Ephesians 1:8 With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Last night, as I prepared to go to bed, I realized that I had not written and shared my thoughts on Good Friday. My apologies. I did have a plan. I do regularly plan out each day, taking note of appointments, commitments, events and all the minutia of my daily life. I am not a detailed planner by nature, but a career oriented toward the design and construction of large capital projects taught me the immense value of detailed planning. However, being a “living being” means that sometimes life interrupts our best plans. “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley,” (To a Mouse, Robert Burns)
The specifics of what interrupted my plans for yesterday are not relevant to the issue of my not writing and sharing yesterday beyond the fact that I let myself be deterred from my plan. But, I believe that the whole issue of planning is very pertinent to Lent and Easter. As God-created “living being(s),” we should all at least be aware that our Creator God has a plan. We are individually and collectively part of God’s plan.
How do I, you or anyone else fulfill our assigned part in God’s plan? How are we supposed to know what to do? How can we become comfortable and confident in God’s plan?
First, that verse above from Genesis firmly places us within God’s plan. We are “living being(s)” because God has breathed God’s breath into our nostrils. Life itself is the result of God’s breath; and, our lives should attempt to reflect that fact. You, I and everyone around us is a creature of our Creator God. Looking at the world around us, it is obvious that some are not aware of that or deliberately choose to ignore the fact. But that does not lessen the fact that we are all children of God.
Can we hope to know the end result of God’s plan? Can we be confident of God’s ultimate intent? It is difficult for me to believe that many are unaware of John 3:16-17, but some probably are. "3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” The ultimate purpose of God’s plan is our salvation and the salvation of all Creation . . . the world. My own personal belief is that God’s plan will come to fruition when we achieve that for which we so often pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Every year during Lent and especially during Holy Week, I feel like I’m riding a rollercoaster, from the joy of Palm Sunday to the despair of Good Friday and then back up to the ultimate jubilation of Easter Morning. During that same period each year, I try to imagine the emotional state of the disciples, of Jesus’ family and of his friends. Even more challenging, I try to imagine Jesus’ own emotions.
Did Jesus fully understand the totality of what was going to happen? I find hints in scripture that he did. The Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 21:33-44 suggest that Jesus fully understood. Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, especially, "Matthew 26:39 My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want" and also, from Luke’s version, “Luke 22:44 In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.”
Jesus fully knew where God’s plan was leading. Jesus fully understood what awaited him in the scourging and on the Cross. And, Jesus was fully ready to offer himself to God’s plan. That realization on my part somehow renders all of my issues with my own plans trivial, meaningless and petty. If Jesus could “walk this lonesome valley,” as the hymn says, I can certainly continue on my journey, basking in the glory of God’s Creation. I can certainly, accept any and all challenges when my own plans are interrupted and/or demolished; and, I can remain on my own path of fulfilling God’s plan for me and for Creation.
Stay safe, stay on God’s path, trust God,
Pastor Ray