This is odd. If you look at multiple people that God used in Scripture, you'll find that the plan was ... to fail. Take, for instance, Isaiah. After his encounter with God (Isa 6:1-7), God calls him to "go for Us" (Isa 6:8). And he volunteers. God tells him to tell the people to "Keep on listening, but do not perceive ..." (Isa 6:9) Isaiah (rightly, I think) asks, "Lord, how long?" (Isa 6:11). And God says, "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant." Wait ... hang on a minute. Let's see if we got this right. The plan is to have Isaiah take God's word to the people until they refuse to listen and end up in annihilation. That is the plan? Yes, it was.
Take Jeremiah. God told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." (Jer 1:5) No question about his calling, is there? And what was Jeremiah's job? His job (like so many of the Prophets) was to proclaim repentance and judgment knowing full well that Jerusalem and Judah faced certain annihilation (Jer 1:15-16). Again, what was that? The plan is for Jeremiah to fail to turn Israel? Yes ... yes it was.
Just two examples. I think if you look at most of the Prophets, you'll find the same story. Their job was not to change people; their job was to tell people. In almost every case, they would do their job -- warn people of God's judgment -- and the hearers would not only refuse to repent, but would torment the messengers. The predictions of doom and gloom came true over and over.
This is not "success" in our book. This is not "the plan." The plan is clearly that, say, pastors would have a successful church with lots of people coming to the Lord and lots of people serving God as a result. Not this. The plan is that believers would go and make disciples and be so inundated with them that they hardly have time for anything else. Not this. You get the idea. And I would suggest that maybe -- just maybe -- we're a little turned around, because it looks like God's version of "success" and ours are not the same. Sometimes His version looks like failure to us. It is obviously not. So maybe we might want to be more careful when we try to assign our "success" plans to God's plans. His version might be different than ours. But it's always the best one.
8 comments:
It's almost like you are arguing that this God you talk about knows more than we do. It's like He has this grand plan that spans beyond our life span and that we don't get the whole picture. It's like looking at all of eternity as a film. We're really extras in tiny roles in the middle of the second reel, yet we think that our picture and name should be atop the posters.
I could go on....but I think you'll catch me drift.
Yes, like a flying spaghetti monster ... except much smarter.
Like an all knowing, all powerful, all seeing, Flying Spaghetti Monster?
If you mean, "Like no flying spaghetti monster ever", yes.
I've always been fascinated by that expression. What's pasta got to do with it?
If the question is serious (as opposed to the joking Craig and I have been doing), the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" is a term coined to ridicule faith in God. They even have a "church" and practice "pastafarianism," all aimed at showing how stupid it is to believe in anything. (Which, of course, is a self-refuting argument.) It was created in 2005 aimed specifically at protesting Intelligent Design or Creationism in schools.
So basically, it was just a random choice because they thought they were clever.
Yes, intentionally ridiculous.
Post a Comment