The Grand Scheme

“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 1:9

All the debating we do in the church, or even between Christians is kind of ridiculous. Calvinism vs. Arminianism, Old Earth vs. Young Earth, Mask vs. Anti-Mask. Can a Homosexual be a Christian? Can a Trans person be a Christian? What about abortion, what is the stance we take as a church? How involved should we be in the political choices of our democracy? Should we paint the sanctuary black and add stage lighting or should we paint it neutral and add a new lectern?

Debate, after debate, after debate. I think have lost sight of Christ when these things become our major issues. While there is value in discussing these topics, we must avoid making them the hills we will die on, because honestly none of them are Christ. Because we won’t know until it doesn’t matter whether Calvinist or Arminians were right. We won’t know until it doesn’t matter whether there was an Old Earth or Young Earth, because we will be living in a New Earth. And masks, I get it, it’s inconvenient, but what cost more? Wearing a mask or carrying the cross? Then with all the political and moral issues we become more vocal about our stance than we do the Gospel.

We focus on such small and insignificant things. Meanwhile we glaze over the Grand Scheme of what God has planned, is doing, and will bring into fruition soon.

In the beginning:

So why on earth would God create? Theologically He had no reason to. As a God who is 3 persons in 1 nature, He already lived in perfect relationship with ever abounding love. God does not need us.

And yet, He chose us, He chose to create so that others may dwell with this ever-abounding love and grace and righteousness. So, He created because of His love, He created because it is who He is. It is that love, that has allowed humanity to truly experience it, and I believe it is because God wants authentic relationships. Why?

Well, He could have created the world without sin and death, or even Satan existing. But God would know that all His creation loves Him because they have too, there is no possibility to stop loving God but it then is no authentic. God willed that there be free will. Free will to choose Him or to not choose Him, which of course, we all slipped away from God’s original intentions. Thus, God’s Grand Scheme commences.

Saved by Grace:

We chose sin. We chose to cheat on God with ourselves and sin. The original sin began with Adam, which has succeeded to every generation throughout all humanity. We deserved death, destruction, and divorce because of our unfaithfulness.

But there came a man, who was God in the beginning, continued to be God in His present, and still to this day sits on the throne in Heaven, there came a man who knew no sin. He was blameless and pure despite having human flesh and DNA. This is the ultimate turning point in God’s Grand Scheme. Because God’s chosen nation had failed, God took our sin, fallenness, and failure upon Himself because of His promises, and gave us opportunity for New Life by Jesus’ atoning blood. God it just against sin, but gracious to save those who deserve death. So though we do not deserve Jesus, Jesus was graced to us anyways and imputing to us His righteousness.

Holy Living:

We were not saved by Grace to return to our own way of living, we were saved to be living with God. We are in a period of history where God is actively and progressively redeeming and storing creation to be back in the fold of His ever-abounding love. The amazing difference will be the love will be authentic. While we will not forget the sinful past, it no longer is an issue to us when the day of Jesus’ return. Until then, we spur one another on in holy living, that we might grow in our own likeness to appear as such like Christ. Here we do not only experience God’s grace, but we use it for transformation and to be agents of His grace in the world.

Final Blessing:

All of that, from God’s original intentions to God’s glorious redeeming of the world, is His Grand Scheme. That we might come to know Him and know Him to the fullest, ever-growing in our love for Him with the fullest authenticity. His plans, His ways, they really are something else, but there would be no better way. There is no greater Scheme, nothing that could lead to dwelling with the Holy Trinity, living within His ever-abounding love. What a beautiful Scheme it is. I hope it leaves you in as much awe as it leaves me in.

May the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, in every breathe, and every heart beat of your journey.