The Lord of Heaven longs to embrace and cherish the family he craves.
Before that family can be with him, he knows certain things need to be accomplished.
He needs to create a space where the humans can grow and learn and be responsible with the free will he will give them. Without that free will, they will never be able to show that their decisions and love are genuine.
God will give them guidance to follow. They may not fully understand the whys but they will learn the whats. The rules will help them stay safe and learn the value of obedience.
When they fail, he will give them a chance to make it up with a sacrifice to temporarily pay the debt of sin. This will help them appreciate that ignoring him has consequences. Someday some will come to appreciate the full and final payment when it is paid.
Knowing their understanding will remain a work in progress, he sometimes will need to resort to acts of punishment that may not make sense to them, or to believers in the future. But an all-knowing all-loving God knows what it takes for young children to learn to respect him and grow more mature.
After these lessons have made an impression, he will make a personal appearance. He will take human form, walk and live among them, showing them he does indeed understand.
He will broaden their understanding of his deeper truths, and give them a chance to mature beyond their child’s understanding. They will have a chance to see a bigger picture of the purposes of God.
To prove the depth of his determination and sincerity, to show his love for all, he would need to commit himself to the most dramatic act. He will sacrifice his life for them, for there is no greater gift one can give to prove the extent of love. By shedding his own blood, he pays the full and final price for humanity’s sin.
A new era will begin where all will then have their chance to know him.
The task will be great, challenges immense, enemies on all sides. They will need his power from above to triumph. God intentionally planned to fill them with an extra measure of his Spirit, to enable them to succeed beyond all expectations, empowering them to spread the message of his love throughout the world to all nations.
He will help them mature into responsible productive disciplined adult children of God who will devote their lives to him and his kingdom.
Then, when he knows the time is right, he will bring history to a close. He will conclude his epic effort to prepare his people for their forever future. He will commission them to serve him and his vision in ways they could have never imagined in their former lives.
This is the Master Plan, as God guides the willing to be prepared for what he has planned for all those who love him.
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Dave Soucie lives, serves and writes in Indianapolis.
Copyright © 2022 by Dave Soucie. All rights reserved [but permission is granted for non-commercial use only, with proper citation].
Dave Soucie 