I do not believe that God has a specific plan for my life. By that I mean, I think there is a general plan for all of us, but the specifics do not exist. The reason? Free Will. God cannot control our lives AND give us Free Will. That leads, of course, to my belief that while God knows the present and the past, God does not know the future. If God knows the future, there is no Free Will. I also believe that God gives each person spiritual gifts in the way the Apostle Paul laid it out in 1st Corinthians. Those gifts are different from natural gifts like music or sports or science. Some people seem to have more spiritual and natural gifts than others do (don’t you hate them? Just kidding!). It doesn’t matter what our gifts are or how many we have; what matters is whether we use our Free Will to use our gifts for good or evil or not at all. God and genetics equip us, but we decide what we will do with our equipment. So – what’s your plan?
The problem with making plans (“Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht” – that’s an old Yiddish adage), is that everyone else is doing the same thing – planning. When you have almost 8 billion people making plans, chaos is bound to ensue. I never dreamed I would end up living in Berks County, PA, and yet, here I am, 30 years of living the dream. I mean that completely – as a kid, I could not have imagined my life being this wonderful. I have still accomplished my goals, but the road has been pretty twisty. My plan was to serve United Methodist churches in the NY/NJ Metro area for 40 years. Coming to PA changed all of that because I chose to marry my wife and intertwine our plans and paths. That’s how life works – situations present themselves (sh*t happens) and we choose.
So – what’s your plan? In general, I think God wants us to live and love and do good in the world. Not doing those things subverts God’s plan. I have always thought that God is an optimist, creating flawed people and hoping for the best. Sometimes we live up to those hopes and dreams and sometimes we don’t. God doesn’t just laugh – God weeps as well. Every time we legislate against the poor or behave in racist ways; every time we treat others with disdain and hatred – every time we do not love others and self and God – God weeps. And stop looking skyward – God doesn’t give us homeruns or new cars or a million dollars. God does not strike us with lightning or send us to an early grave or put us in the way of domestic abuse. Every time good things happen, I think that God applauds, and every time bad things happen, I think that God weeps and, probably, gets angry for us.
So – what’s your plan? What will you do with the gifts you have been given? How will you shift gears when things go wrong? What will you decide when presented with a change to your plan? You have Free Will, but there is also Chaos in the form of other people and forces unknown. What will you do with this great big life God has given you? Choose well – God’s proverbial fingers are crossed, hoping for the best. And the rest of us are pulling for you.
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for making us such beautiful and amazing people. And for Free Will. Amen.