Understanding the Unfathomable Plan of God
I was thinking about my boss the other day on the way to work. I'm trying to find the perfect way to tell Him about the love of God. I tend to overthink things and feel it has to be some lofty explanation. God brought to mind that my relationship with Him is one of father and child. This is a fact for all those who have put their trust in Him. We are called children of God, are we not?
I started to think about my boss and his relationship with his own son. When he arrives at work every day he is always on the phone with his son. When he takes a break to get coffee, it is because his son is taking a lunch break and has called him to chat. In the afternoon he takes another break to get a diet coke and his son has called again. Periodically throughout the day, his phone will ring. It is usually his son. To say they talk often is understatement. They talk daily and several times every day.
He plans vacations, which often involve meeting up with his son. Their relationship is enviable among fathers whose sons are too busy and maybe call once or twice a month or never. He is truly a blessed father when it comes to his only child, now a full grown adult male living in New York city working at a prestigious law firm. To say he is proud of his son is an understatement. The best part about their conversations, they always end in "I love you." Imagine! My own earthly father had a difficult time saying those words, though I knew he did.
I smiled as I thought this is how God feels about His children. For me, the closer my relationship is with God, the more we talk. I used to talk to God occasionally and usually only if I was in desperation. I never used to just "call Him up" to chat. Now I start every day with "Good morning Father. I love you." The love I feel for God is like nothing I have ever had in my life. It even outshines the love I have for both of my parents, all of my siblings, their children and grandchildren put together. I have a big family. There are a lot of people to love. There are times when I feel God's presence and love so strongly it is as though He has just wrapped His arms around me and given me the biggest spiritual hug ever. It makes me smile and say, "I love you, too."
I remembered what life was like before I started talking to God daily. I was always lost, sad, lonely, and felt unloved. God hadn't stopped loving me, I had become too interested in the things of this life to be bothered with the most important relationship I could ever have. It is like a child who has grown up and no longer needs a daddy. They think they can figure things out on their own. They stop calling, stop visiting, and send an occasional gift. It is like Christians whose lives are so overwhelmed with everything that we show up in church, drop a twenty in the plate and then forget about God until the next week. That old song, Cat's In the Cradle, comes to mind here.
I thought about my boss and wondered, what if his son stopped calling multiple times a day? What if his son stopped answering every time he called? What if it got worse and his son only called or answered the phone on holidays or his birthday? What if his son stopped saying "I love you, dad?" Would they both survive? Of course they would, but something would be missing. That close relationship would be a memory to look back on, hoped for, but no longer a reality. It made me sad to think that this could ever happen.
God was telling me that this is exactly where my boss is in relation to God. Wow! What a thought! The relationship that my boss has with his son, is exactly the same relationship that God wants with my boss as a heavenly father. It isn't about religious practices or holidays or special prayers. The relationship God wants is as simple as picking up the phone just to talk. He loves us so much that He yearns to spend time with us.
Then of course my mind went deeper, and I started asking other questions.
What if something happened and my boss' son became sick? What if the sickness was terminal and the prognosis not good?
Would my boss seek God and ask to trade places so his son could live?
What if his son was accused of a crime for which the punishment was years of incarceration? Would my boss offer to do the time so his son could be free?
What if his son was convicted of murder and the punishment was death?
Would my boss offer his life in exchange for that of his son?
I was reminded of a story I read years ago, true or not I could not say, but I found it amazing. There was a judge who resided over a court in which the defendant was on trial for murder. During the trial it was discovered that the defendant had once belonged to affluent family whose parents were devout God-fearing christians. He had walked away and no longer talked to his family and had lead a life of crime. The young man was found guilty. In sentencing the judge gave him the death penalty. Then surpisingly, before the court he told the young man if he would agree to return home and attend church with his family, the judge himself would offer his own life for the defendant. The man refused the offer and was lead away to death row. The very next day the judge resigned and it was discovered that he was the young man's father.
I think you see how these thoughts just blew my mind. God is our judge, not because He wants to be, but because He is holy and the only one worthy to judge anyone. But that judge is also a very loving father. He has to judge the actions of each of His children. He is bound by His attributes. Not only must He sit in judgement over His children, but His compassion and love for all of us compels Him to pay the penalty as well. He can't force us to accept that substitution, that is where it becomes our choice to exercise faith.
The judge offering his life to pay a debt that wasn't his. Sound familiar? It stopped me in my tracks. The magnitude of love that a father has for his children can't even compare with the magnitude of love that God the Creator has for His creation, those created in His image, His children. The sacrifice He made was for ALL the sin of ALL those ever born on this earth. Some receive it, but many reject it. How His heart must break!
Imagine Jesus giving up the highest seat in heaven to become a man, live with sinners and remain sinless. Then Imagine Jesus submitting to the unfathomable plan of God the Father, knowing that not all would come to repentance or even understand the magnitude of this offering. Imagine Jesus our righteous sinless judge, having already paid the price for all of our offenses, offering us redemption and eternal life in exchange for faith.
If you have ever had a broken relationship with a sibling, a parent, a child, a spouse, or even a good friend, you know the heartache that it brings. If you have ever experienced the restoration of such a relationship, you know the joy that restoration brings. The world is suffering because we long to be in a relationship with God. We were created for it. That missing piece in all of our lives is God. The joy you have when that relationship is restored is beyond anything else you have ever felt in your life. I think it is perfectly expressed in Psalm 28 verse 7.
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him."
God walked in the garden of Eden with Adam. Imagine Jesus walking in the garden with you. I do every day. In fact, that was the inspiration for this blog 4 years ago. My daily walking and spending time talking to my savior, my God, my judge, my father, my best friend, has changed my life and filled those empty places that I tried to fill with other people and earthly things. It really is a Christian walk, a daily talk with God that lasts all day long.
I don't want to go back to a life where I only talked to God when I was in need of rescuing. I don't want to spend another day without hearing my father's voice, feeling His presence, or singing praises in my loudest shower voice. The Lord delights in the praises of His children, even if the neighbors do complain!
There is only one relationship that truly satisfies. That relationship is between a loving God and His child. My God is a relatable God. He doesn't need your money. He isn't impressed by football scores, fancy cars, huge houses, jewelry, electronics or anything we chase after. He wants one thing, your love. When you are in love with God, life changes in a most amazing way. Call Him. He is never too busy to take your call. In fact He is waiting for it with eager anticipation.
Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Matthew 22:37 "Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
Colossians 2:6-8 " So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ."
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