I have, for some time, believed that the idea that God has a specific, perfect, unalterable plan for each one of us, as well as for humanity, is not true. This belief goes against what the vast majority of Christians believe, and I am okay with that; I’ve been here before. People who believe firmly in God’s irrevocable plan will point to passages in Scripture like Isaiah 46 (I have planned it, surely I will do it) and Psalm 33 (The counsel of God stands forever, the plans of God’s heart from generation to generation) as proof that this is true. Of course, as a person who believes that the Bible is, as 2 Timothy wrote, “…inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.“, but not perfect and inerrant, using Scripture to prove something I believe is perfectly fine, but also up for interpretation.
Let’s say that there is a plan. If this is true, it is not unalterable. Exhibit one: In Genesis 2, God created Adam to take care of the Garden of Eden. Seeing the workload was too much, God decided it wasn’t right for Adam to be alone, so God started creating all the animals for Adam to name, as well as to choose a partner, but in that process, Adam couldn’t find the right match. So, God took Adam’s rib and made Eve, and they lived happily ever after – no, not really. They disobeyed God on the advice of the Serpent and ate the fruit that gave them the knowledge of good and evil. This made God so mad that God cast them out of the Garden; God’s plan, while a good one, was broken by Adam and Eve’s disobedience.
Or take the story of the flood, which happens a few chapters later in Genesis. Male angels are doing the wild thing with human women and they are producing beings that are described as “heroes of old, warriors of renown” – some versions include giants. It is at this point that God does two things: God limits human lifespan to 120 years (even though Noah lives more than 600 years), and God gets so mad that God decides to destroy all living things with a massive flood (with the exception of water creatures, because, you know – they live in the water). God finds one family – the Noah tribe – and saves them and 2 of each land animal; or 7, if you would rather believe Genesis 7: 2-3, which makes much more sense, genetically. In just the first 6 chapters of the 1st book of the Hebrew Scriptures, God’s plan completely unravels, and God decides to start all over again.
It may be that God has plans; hopes and dreams, just like us, who are created in God’s image. It may be that we disappoint God regularly by choosing to live our own lives our own way. After all, it is obvious from Genesis 2 that God endowed humanity with free will, and we have proven billions of times that we generally prefer that to doing what God might want. That is the problem with being human, but it is, for me, far better than being subject to the whims and desires of God, no matter how loving that God is. I will take freedom over being an automaton any day. It makes our existence far more meaningful, I think.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for giving us the ability to choose for ourselves, even when You might not approve. You have given us the tools; we use them how we wish. Amen.
Today’s art is on many websites, but none of them say who the artist is.