His Plan


"For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because it was his plan from before the beginning of time -- to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News." II Timothy 1:9-10

Pick up football games have been a part of my life since my childhood. All that was needed was a handful of kids, a piece of grass, and a football. Most plays were, "You, go long. You, go short." Then we'd call "Shotgun!" then "Hike!" and then the "Mississippi(s)" would start. I noticed that when the games were close, the play planning took a little longer. With bragging rights on the line, it was no time to be caught without a good game plan.

Paul spent tremendous amounts of time and energy sharing, reflecting upon, and engaging in God's plan. His plan required a personal appearance from Jesus to make it possible. He broke death's power. He paved the road to life and life to the fullest. Wow! Why? Because we were so wonderful? Nope. It was the plan. With eternity hanging in the balance for billions of souls, it was no time to be caught without a good game plan.

God never asks of us to develop our own plans, just to embrace his. To embrace his plan is to wholeheartedly put our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. To embrace his plan is to share his plan with others through a grateful love-inspired obedience to his commands and a ready at any moment humble and gracious verbal witness to his saving grace through faith in Jesus. Life is too short to be caught without a good game plan.

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