I know a woman………she and her husband packed their family up and flew halfway around the world to spread the word of God in a country that is not nearly as comfortable as America. They run their lives on a plan. It is a surprisingly complicated plan. The hoops that they have had to jump through to get to……and to stay in their new home country are mind boggling. But, the plan is a good plan and the plan is working.
I’m a big fan of making a plan and following it through. I too made a plan and followed it through: college, med school, residency, then 35 years with one practice, and finally…….a comfortable retirement. In many ways she and I have followed the same strategy. But, there is a key difference.
She is following God’s plan……..and I am following mine.
Every step along the way, I have asked the question, “will this decision, this choice, promote my interests?” Every step along the way, she has asked, “will this decision, this choice, promote God’s interests?”
And I have come to understand that this dichotomy is a major threat to Christianity. It is a threat to the heart and the soul of the Christian. Christianity asks us to run our plan by God and to conform our plan to his plan. Human nature tells us that we can figure it out…….without God’s interference. Human nature tells us that our plan is better than God’s plan. It is no accident that our plan happens to lead us to a pleasant, comfortable place. Sometimes God’s plan does not…….at least not right away.
And so…….we put ourselves in charge. We execute our plan. And when our plan conflicts with God’s plan……we push God off into the corner. The danger here, is that after pushing God off onto the corner for long enough, we stop thinking about him…….we stop talking to him……we stop asking his advice. We stop allowing him to interfere with our plan. Oh, we let him out of his corner for an hour on Sunday……if that…….and then tell ourselves that we are “a good person”.
I’m not saying that you have to pack up your stuff and head to Africa. But, I think that we could all profit, if we would spend more time talking to God……listening to God……..and asking his advice. I think that we could all profit, if we worked harder to conform our plan…….to God’s plan.
The culture will say that I am sucessful…….and that she is not. The culture rewards me with a position of status….and her……not so much. But I can’t help but wonder if that calculus will hold up…….after we cross over to eternity. I have a sneaking suspicion that……in eternity…….in paradise…….our positions will be reversed.
So, perhaps a little late in the game, I am bending my plan…….just a little……..to bring it a bit closer……..to God’s plan.
“So……the last will be first and the first last.”
Jesus, ESV
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Jesus, ESV
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