A Thought For The Week Of September 21, 2015

"Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21) If nothing else, this verse reminds us of a fact that I think a lot of people need to learn - it's not all about us! All of us have plans and hopes and dreams. That's natural. Most of those plans and hopes and dreams are self-centred, focussed on what "I" want. That's natural too. I don't make it as a general criticism, just as a general comment. We want what we want. That's life, and that's normal. And while this verse speaks of God's will prevailing, it doesn't tell us that God frustrates our plans or substitutes his plans for ours - only that ultimately God's will prevails. Many people speak of God's will as if literally everything that happens is something that God has decided upon. Even the most disturbing and heinous things are sometimes justified as "it was God's will." I've always thought that to be a ridiculous notion, if only because it would make God the cause of evil as well as good. Last week, a two year old girl was murdered in Alberta. That was not God's will. That was the result of ungodly evil. The reality is that humans continue to have the ability and the freedom to choose a path that's not consistent with what God desires from us, and that is sometimes the very epitome of evil. But I do believe, as this verse says, that ultimately the Lord's purpose will prevail. Not necessarily in the everyday details, but in the broader picture. I do believe that there's a divine plan being worked out, I believe that divine plan will come to fruition, and I believe that divine plan is always for good. In our own hesitant, uncertain and faltering ways, people of faith can further the plan of God. We do that by living lives of love rather than judgement. We do that by sacrificing our own personal desires for the greater good. We do that by making choices that do the most good for the most people, and especially for those with the most need. We may, indeed, have many plans in our hearts, but it is God's plan that ultimately will prevail. By trying our best to align ourselves with God's will, we have the privilege of participating in the working out of God's plan for humanity and for all creation.