I met Patrick at Farmer's Market. He likes to be insightful, which is why we make several laps up and down the busy, crowded street. Last week, the topic was about God. Needless to say, we made four laps and then went to Starbucks.
Patrick has a plan for his life. He says that he can't share his plan with God, and so he will decide not to believe in God until it is more convenient for him. What I hear is "I know there is a God, I'm just going to ignore him for now." As if faith is a vitamin supplement.
But he says that later down the road, in 20 years or so (taking for granted that there will be another 20 years or so) he will be happy to formulate his own recipe of faith to live with. Because ... by then he will be happy to hand over the life he has built to whom he has ignored, right?
I tried to explain to my friend that God has a plan for him too, and it may include Patrick's own plan. God's plans are bigger than ours, they have many levels and purposes. And God, unlike us, has more experience in creating the perfect plan for our specific needs and desires. Plus, he knows the future. That's a biggie.
But despite his own admission of "derailments" so far in following his own plan, Patrick holds on to a steadfast confidence that he is in control of his own life. "I can't share the glory, or the failure. If I mess up, it's on me. If I make it, it's on me."
He can't accept handing over control of the car he is driving blind to the one who built the car and also paved the road.
Bottom line: My friend truly believes that his own plan for his life, which he made when he was 16 years old, is better than anything God (we are talking about GOD here) could possibly have for him.
"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps" - Proverbs 16:9
1 comment:
Wow... so yeah. I'll skip past the condescension in the first paragraphs, mostly because I think it weakens your position rather than mine. Hot zealotry is never as persuasive as cold objectivity.
I think you're making a few flawed assumptions. Most noticeably, you assumed that, if and when I use the same standards I've applied to everything else in my life to define my faith, I would arrive at the same conclusions you've reached.
Second, you assumed that handing over my life would be a tenet of that faith.
Third, you assumed that doing so is wise and desirable.
Meanwhile, you're suggesting I hand over control to a God whose existence is unprovable, whose nature is unknowable, and whose influence is undetectable.
To use your analogy, you're offering me a GPS system of which I can only ask, but never receive, directions, and won't let me determine my own destination. To help me get started, you hand me an operations manual - mistranslated dozens of times - which is mostly relevant only to the car my ancestors drove.
Now who's driving blind?
-- Patrick
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