Christian Living

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Paying Attention to the Plan

A familiar law of physics is that for every physical cause there is a corresponding effect. By discovering the cause for any given effect scientists, for example, can explain how that effect occurred. So, for example, since two physical objects can’t occupy the same space at the same time, the cause, or reason, for a car wreck is two objects trying to do the physically impossible. The effect is, among other things, higher insurance premiums.

A purpose is about why such and such occurs, and to what end. So, if a young person is killed in that car wreck someone might ask ‘why’ did that happen. Usually this question is really about what purpose could there possibly be for such a tragedy especially for someone with their whole life ahead of them? And it is precisely this question of ‘why’ that perplexes us, whatever the circumstances are.

Discovering a purpose behind causes and effects in the physical universe is beyond the scope of science because purposes imply intentions and material things can’t intend to do anything. The bigger issues, the ‘why this and not that” questions, questions about purpose in the universe must be left to us who believe God is involved in His creation and that nothing just happens willy nilly.

However, this view of things can be turned on its head when certain kinds of events occur, especially personal misfortune. An extreme catastrophe suggests, at least to us experiencing it, that things are not in control, that events do happen willy nilly because we can’t discern any purpose for what is happening and are tempted to think that maybe, just maybe, God doesn’t really care about us after all. While it seems totally natural to ask ‘why’ certain things happen it can literally drive a person to distraction, or worse, to unbelief. This is why I’m convinced that all the events in our lives, especially those that are burdensome, become momentous and even miraculous when we have some sense of God’s overall purpose for us and for creation. Without it we will certainly miss the forest because we see only a few trees.

Our creaturely limitations are such that it is impossible to take it all in, the eternity part especially, so we get it in little snippets. Fortunately we do have a way of seeing why things are the way they are, the overarching purpose behind it all; it’s in the Book and the more we read it the bigger the picture becomes. In the simplest terms I can think of, the purpose behind all the ‘reasons’ and the answer to all the ‘why’ questions is this: God is putting things right again that have gone terribly wrong. And, what is amazing to me is that the ‘terribly wrong’ aspect is part of the ultimate purpose as well, that He had a solution to the problem before the problem even existed, back there in that pesky eternity thing we find impossible to grasp.

Now, too really benefit from this unique perspective entails paying attention to the Plan outlined in the Book because it reveals the purpose and the purpose reveals the meaning of any occurrence in our lives, good or bad. In the broadest of strokes, the Plan instructs us that creation is not in the same condition it was when God created it. Sin and death entered it through human free will and has so altered it that it is but a shadow of its former beauty and, instead of a womb for humanity, it is now largely hostile towards it. Human lawlessness and rebellion are the order of the day and the causes of most of the tragedies we witness occur because of us, not God. And the Plan includes all people, saved and unsaved, but for His own it is of the utmost significance. Should we get knocked off track by whatever it is that comes our way, we only have to return to the Plan and realize that, as improbable as it might seem, all things (good and bad) do work for the good of those who love God and, in spite of circumstances, good or bad, are aligned with his purposes (Rom. 8:28). Part of what this means is that when we see ourselves as part of the Big Picture that spans eternity, our time-bound experiences, no matter how insignificant or grand, tragic or glorious they might seem, make sense in world that has lost its way.

But beyond just making sense of things, the Plan also gives us a foundation for hope. It tells us that God is not only setting things right again in our lives now but that all will end happily in the future. In fact, the Plan sets before us our entire future from cradle to grave and beyond. So, the Book counsels us in light of God’s purposes to “count it all joy” when things seem to go awry because, in spite of appearances, all is going according to Plan. We simply cant’ lose no matter what, unless of course, we don’t pay attention to either the Book or the Plan. And this seems to be quite a common issue among us, this trying to take control of things when a solution from the Plan doesn’t immediately present itself. Usually what happens is we start running amok and make things worse, like trying to get out of quicksand by wiggling even more; we end up sinking faster. So, when the quicksand traps us, lets reach for the Book and remember the Plan; help is on the way.

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