A Perfect Plan

We are now into our third week of breaking down the blog posted on January 7^th.  Last week we ended our time together with our praying that God would help us trust Him as we let Him hold up a mirror before us.  We prayed;  Dear God, help us trust that as we see the truth of who we are and who our master is, you will come into us and free us from the bondage we are in.  Dear God, help us come to know the freedom of being one with you as you show us the freedom found in simply letting go.

Prior to this prayer we used John 8 to reveal a few foundational truths to this journey with God.  We came to understand that:

• The truth sets us free,
• The truth is that we impose sin upon others and upon ourselves,
• The truth is that as sure as we sin, we are in bondage,
• The truth is that by definition someone in bondage is not free, and
• Our freedom hinges on our ability to let God show us the truth of these things.

Typically when we think about our bondage to sin we turn our minds to one of three things:

• Christ going to the cross to “wash us of our sins and make us acceptable to God”,
• The observation that our sin is the proof of our bondage, or
• The observation that our bondage is the proof of our sin.

It is this third understanding that we will discuss.  Wouldn’t you agree that nothing positive comes from our sin?  Isn’t it true that when we sin things don’t go too well in our lives or the lives of others?  This is where I feel it is important to see the bondage that our sin leads to instead of simply understanding the sin being the result of being in bondage.  There is a big difference here.  The latter is true; it is how Satan uses us to impose sin upon others so that he can capture them in his web.  The thing is, if we look at that as our basis for not sinning we kind of miss the boat.  We start looking at the choice to sin or not to sin based on what is going to be good for someone else.  Should I listen to God and do what is best for the other person or listen to Satan and do what is best for me?  If on the other hand we look at the bondage that our sin leads us into we tend to see the listening to God as what is best for us, and listening to Satan as what is detrimental to our own experiences of life.  I would argue that the first example of seeing ourselves as “needing” to listen to God because it is the right thing is just one more thing that gives us the sense of being in bondage.  We can tend to feel burdened by the weight of choosing between “sacrificing for others” or “doing what is best for us”.  On the other hand, if we allow ourselves to see that living a Christ like life is actually better for us as we are no longer weighted down with the bondage that is connected to the ramifications of our sins we become free.  At this realization, the only motive to living a Godly life is the sense of freedom it provides.  This is true freedom.  The really cool thing is that as we trust God to these things and walk this out in our daily lives we discover something unexpected.  What we find is a buried treasure.  We discover that not only do we avoid the unpleasant consequences of our sin, we are actually blessed with an unexpected emotional sensation found only in the joy of selfless living.  In living this way we discover what our soul was design for; selfless by choice.  It is in this discovery that we find ourselves one with God as we begin living a life in harmony with the nature of our very creation.

As a side note, this is not to be mistaken with selfless by obligation.  Selfless by obligation is still selfish as it is done in our desire to make God pleased with us.  This is totally different than being convinced that God’s ways are simply good.  The truth is, selfless by obligation is a works based mentality that totally misses the message of the gospel.

This paves the way for today’s discussion.  What is the purpose of this life, why did God create Satan, and why all the pain and suffering?  Have you ever stopped to consider:

• If God knows all things before they happen, why did He create Satan?
• Why did He give Satan so much power and influence?
• What is the purpose of life and this existence on planet earth?
• Why did God birth us into this flesh, into this world, and into Satan’s dominion?

Going back to the previous paragraph we see that living God’s way moves us from selfish living into a life of selfless living.  In this life of selfless living we discover a hidden blessing; we discover a sense of harmony that is undeniable.  We find ourselves at inner peace as we come to realize for the first time we are living in harmony with the nature of our very creation.  If this is true, then wouldn’t it reason that living selfishly would leave us feeling disconnected from that which is within us?  Out of harmony with our own nature?  Feeling empty, void, and lost?  Wouldn’t we feel like there is something missing, something that needs to be satisfied, and something that must be fixed?

The journey doesn’t stop with selflessness.  The truth is, we are created in God’s image.  Therefore, we were designed to live in harmony with Him.  The more in harmony with Him we live, the more at peace our lives become.  So what are some of the attributes of this nature:

• Selflessness?
• Holiness?
• Humility?

I am going to focus in on the last one for a minute.  Humility.  There are so many directions I could go with this.  Let’s start with the serpent approaching Eve in the garden.  “You can be just like God”.  What did this promise hinge upon?  Wasn’t it the gaining of the knowledge of good and evil?  And just as important, what does being “just like God” mean exactly?  Let’s go back to John 8 and apply this scripture to today’s discussion.

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?"

There are a few aspects of “being just like God” that we crave and desire.  The one I want to focus in on is our desire to be our own master.  Isn’t it true that the only entity that has no master is the creator Himself?  If we agree that He is omni-powerful & omni-present then we have no choice but to accept that He is the ultimate master of everything He created.  It is our pride that leads us to believe that we are free.  It is the truth of this deception that sets us free from Satan’s bondage.  In other words:

• We know that if we sin we are in bondage to Satan,
• If we re-define sin we can claim to be free even though we are not, and
• If we misinterpret the relationship we have with Christ to be one that removes His desire for us to be freed from sin we can claim to be free even though we are not.

As Satan uses tiny little lies embedded within the wonderful teachings of “religion” he feeds our flesh the one thing it desires more than anything else.  “You can be just like God; knowing the difference between good and evil will make you free”.

The truth is that knowing the difference between good and evil makes you no more free than knowing the difference between black and white.  Similarly, knowing that Christ died to set you free of Satan’s control over your life makes you no more free than any man, woman, or child who still remains unaware of that wonderful fact.  What makes us free is the life long progression of:

• Christ helping us see our sins for what they are,
• Christ helping us see the bondage our sins lead us into,
• Christ helping us see the control this gives Satan over our lives,
• Christ helping us see how Satan uses this to gain control over others, and
• Christ showing us how we are doing more for Satan’s purposes than for God’s.

This realization is our humility; it is what leads us to our brokenness and our total dying to ourselves and our flesh.  It is the realization of our addictions to the things of this world and the spiritual captivity that these addictions lead us into that God uses to bring us to the point of choosing to let Him be our master and all that He wants to show us, where He wants to lead us, and prepare us for an eternity with Him.

Without the ramifications (the pain and suffering) that our sins bring into our lives and the lives of others we simply would not be able to comprehend the depths of our own pride.  It is our pride that leads us to believe that:

• Our definition of good and evil is the same as God’s,
• We are capable of doing what is good and resisting what is evil,
• We are free and that we do not have  a master, and
• We have no need for a master because we are “just like God”.

As such, our ultimate humility leads us to realizing that:

• God will use the events of life to show us that our understanding is not the same as His,
• God will use our choices to show us that we are not capable of doing good or resisting evil,
• God will use the pain and suffering that results to soften our hearts to His voice,
• God will reveal to us that we are not free, we have never been free, and that regardless as to what we think, we are serving a master, and
• With these realizations in mind He gives us the free will choice to decide who our master will be for all of eternity.

The truth is that how we answer the last question is the only thing that really matters.  In God’s ultimate wisdom He delivered us into a world that will:

• Expose our pride,
• Show us how the evil of His creation will use our pride to take control of our lives,
• Allow us to experience the heart wrenching ramifications of what results, and
• Give us a clear picture of the contrast between an eternity bound to evil verses an eternity bound to Him.

The bottom line is this; God created Satan and this world for a very particular purpose.  He knew what would happen and the results are a part of the journey that we must endure.  The purpose of this life is very simple.  Life is a gift, it is a gift that gives our soul the opportunity to grow, learn, and choose.  This world provides the perfect setting for the observation of the truth, to see the ramifications of choosing evil over God or the blessing of choosing God over evil.  All of this was created for our spiritual transformation.  It is that simple.  Anything else we make of it simply adds confusion.  Are we capable of letting go of any other attachment to any other purpose…..can we allow God to show us that all of this is to give us the proof we need to choose Him, and the lessons required to comprehend what that really means?  Can we accept that through all the pain, trials, and tribulations it is a perfect plan created by our perfect God for us?

Dear God, please open up our hearts, minds, and souls to come to understand where we are in bondage, where we have allowed Satan to use our pride to deceive us into believing what is not true.  God help us to have the strength to trust your ways and to lean on your strength as you literally free us from the bondage of your enemy.  Dear God help us to open our hearts to the reality of our pride, how Satan uses our pride to draw us into a relationship with him, and how he is using us to lead the world away from you.  Amen.