But a true Creator knows he not only has to shape, but also endorse and allow. Reality could never live up to his spotless construction plans.

We would all suffer from the constant nagging of a dogged designer whose plans just never work out like he intended or expected. If the world were the work of a cosmic engineer, he would be in a constant state of discontentedness. “Scriptures show me that God has the heart of an artist, not a grim construction planner. My German friend Martin Schleske, a world-class violin craftsman, puts it this way: What if there is no “plan” for your life but rather a relationship in which God constantly invites us to co-create, respectfully submitting to the choices we bring to the table?Īnd what if this God, who is Love, will never be satisfied until only that which is of Love’s kind remains in us? Nothing, not even the salvation of the entire cosmos, could ever justify a horrific torture device called a “cross.” That God would submit to our darkness and then transform this dark machine into an icon and monument of grace speaks volumes about the nature of God, but it does not justify evil.ĭoes God have a wonderful plan for our lives? Does God sit and draw up a perfect will for you and me on some cosmic drafting table, a perfect plan that requires a perfect response? Is God then left to react to our stupidity or deafness or blindness or inability, as we constantly violate perfection through our own presumption? What if this is about a God who has greater respect for you than for “the plan”? It is wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! Yes, God has the creative audacity to build purpose out of the evil we generate, but that will never justify what is wrong.

There is no justification for much of what we have brought to the table, what has been done to us, and what we participate in ourselves. Or might it be that many things are simply wrong? How often have we heard the well-intentioned words, “It must be part of God’s plan”? So if we can’t have control, we want a God who does. We inherently know that control is a myth, that one rogue cell or another person’s choices can instantly change the direction of our lives, but we still fight for it and even demand it. Admittedly, we humans are control freaks, wanting to control everyone and everything around us so that the things we fear won’t happen. The first you might learn to trust, the latter… twisted lip service at best.

There is an impassable chasm between a God who takes ownership for Creation along with the havoc we have produced-and One who authors the evil itself. And since God is in charge, it must be part of God’s plan.” She dried her eyes and said, “I struggle believing this is all part of God’s wonderful plan.”ĭo we actually believe we honor God by declaring Him the author of all this mess in the name of Sovereignty and Omnipotent Control? Some religious people-and Christians are often among their ranks- believe in grim determinism, which is fatalism with personality. Her world-class young athlete friend was recently paralyzed as a result of an on-camera stunt that went horribly wrong. I was sitting in a hotel lobby in Orlando, Florida, having a conversation with my friend K, from Germany.

Incontrol dies