When I saw this graphic, posted on an atheist website, my immediate reaction was: I bet that’s how the world looks to a lot of people.
It’s hardly a stretch to write that planet Earth appears to be in permanent chaos. Wars, viruses, terrorism, rampant corruption, female and child slavery, broken marriages, child sexual abuse. I’m sure you can easily add to the list.
So where’s the plan? Is all this playing out according to some orderly arrangement? Really?
In a word, YES. Now stay with me while I explain.
People of faith like me believe God’s plan is not so much about events. It’s about people. It’s about a relationship with Him through Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s divine Son.
That relationship has three key parts:
1. It can, and has, changed the world for the better. Consider these facts:
- Jesus followers have started hospitals and universities (this blog sheds light on that topic: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-9O).
- A Jesus follower, William Wilberforce, tirelessly led the decades-long fight to end slavery in Great Britain.
- Jesus-following scientist Francis S. Collins played a leading role in mapping the human genome.
- Members of a Jesus-following organization, the International Justice Mission, risk their lives to free female and child slaves in the developing world.
2. It can, and has, brought life-changing peace to lives torn apart by pain and misery. Two examples:
- Second World War hero Louis Zamperini (subject of the Hollywood movie Unbroken) was an angry alcoholic tortured by regular nightmares of his time in a Japanese prison camp. Then he became a serious Jesus follower. The nightmares ended. The drinking stopped. And his troubled marriage was restored.
- Beaten up and betrayed by his criminal friends, Michael “Bull” Roberts was at the end of his rope when he reached out to Jesus. Since then, he’s left behind a life of crime and sought to help others in his situation. (You can read a bit more of his story here: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-5g).
3. It’s based on free will. This might seem difficult for you to accept because free will includes our ability to do all the nasty stuff I mentioned in the second paragraph. You might protest that a loving God would not allow all those things to happen. But centuries of evidence shows that free will is an all-or-nothing proposition.
If the nasty things I mentioned were stopped, then so would your ability to ignore God and reject the gift He offers you: a changed life, now and for all eternity, through faith in Jesus.
It’s up to YOU to respond to the gift. It’s up to YOU to figure out whether you want to be part of God’s work to make this broken world a better place. It’s up to YOU to take hold of the life-changing peace He offers through Jesus.
So what do you think? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 
In case anybody is wondering, Eddie Izzard is a British comedian.
Free will says it all. God does not want, nor need, automatons. He needs hearts of flesh fully committed to being his light, heart, hands, and feet on this earth which Satan wishes to dominate. This is an awesome post, Frank, which I will be sharing.
Have a blessed week, my friend!
Glad you found the essay useful, Martha. 🙂
God does have a goal and definitely has a plan (sometimes called ‘economy’). Most people, including Christians, don’t know much about it, or at least not with depth. Christians often participate in and enjoy it without necessarily knowing it. (A section of the Bible called “Ephesians” goes into some detail on the plan.) This plan involves people intimately. Because of how complex people are, the carrying out of this plan is wise beyond our wisdom.
“That through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 3:10).
But then … that brings out another term little-known and almost always misunderstood: “church”.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Robin. You make good points. 🙂
I am curious, as a self proclaimed serious Christian, how do you balance your own Christian worldview on the back of the Pentateuch, which is considered nothing but historical fiction by most of the worlds eminent scholars in the relevant field and archaeologists?
Thanks for your comment. I balance my worldview on Jesus Christ – His life, radical teachings, sacrificial death and resurrection.
I think you misunderstand. The New Testament is supposedly fulfilled prophecy based in part on the Pentateuch; certainly the spurious doctrine of Original Sin, yet even the character Jesus of Nazareth refers to the Patriarchs, claiming he had come to fulfill the Law; Mosaic Law. Yet Moses is nothing but a narrative construct.
How do you square away a character who many claim to be a god referring to a fictitious character, Moses and a fictional ”Law”, from a collection of stories, likely written during the Babylonian Captivity by Arannid priests?
How do you balance you beliefs in this regard?
You’re drilling down to a level that’s of little (if any) interest to average people. I suggest taking debates like this to other, more appropriate forums.
And I’m not interested in getting into any debate about Moses. As a Jesus follower, I believe he existed.
Should not ”average people” be made aware of the truth?
It saddens me deeply that there’s is almost no common ground between atheists and Jesus followers. 😦
Not according to atheists – according to scientific archaeological evidence.
Are you aware of what is termed the ‘Settlement Pattern’ where it pertains to the population movement/settlement and densities in ancient Canaan?
This alone refutes biblical Exodus Claims.
I can offer some interesting reading if you fancy?
If anyone wants to offer evidence on this topic, that’s fine with me. It won’t affect the main points of the essay.