This is the sort of thinking from “moderate” Christians that I can’t stand.
They make stuff up, wrap it in “life-inspiring” packaging, and Christians swallow it whole.
Case in point, this post from author Don Miller. I actually liked one of his books a lot. But this post frustrates me.
His goal is to say God doesn’t have a “specific plan for your life.” Rather, he gives you the free will to do what you want.
Which, of course, is something he just made up.
I’m sure he can find support from other Christian writers/theologians, but it’s all interpretation and it’s no more or less believable than what a fundamentalist believes.
At the end, he tries to make a joke… but it falls flat for me.
Here’s how you know, based on scripture, whether God has a specific plan for your life:
1. If you are a virgin and you get pregnant anyway.
2. If your donkey talks to you.
3. If an angel wants to wrestle.
If any of this happens to you, God is definitely at work. He also wants you to see a counselor.
And there are a few more. You get the point. If God has something specific for you, you’ll know, I promise. But if He is setting a box of crayons down in front of you (a box of crayons called life) then by all means draw. He’s taught you right from wrong, good from bad, beautiful from profane, so draw. He will be with you, proud of you, cheering you on, so draw. He loves you, so draw in the inspiration of the knowledge of His love. Draw a purple horse, a red ocean, a nine-legged dog, it doesn’t matter. Lets stop being so afraid. Lets live, and show the world what it really means to be grateful we don’t live in a dysfunctional family.
In other words, the miracles that we’re told happened in the Bible are *obviously* ridiculous. It’s never going to happen to you. [I assume some Christians would find this funny… which boggles my mind, because they’re the ones who actually believe these things.]
Miller goes on to say that you’ll just know if God has a plan for you because… you’ll just know.
If you have a creative thought, that’s not your neurons firing. That’s God giving you the inspiration.
If you have a special talent, that’s not your hard work and skill. That’s God giving you a gift.
If you have a child, that’s not basic biology at play. That’s God working a miracle.
It all sounds very nice and, I’m sure, comforting for Christians reading it.
But if you read the comments on that thread, it’s easy to tell no one is bothering to think critically about what he’s saying. They’re just soaking it in, repeating it, and acting like it’s something profound, when in fact Miller is saying nothing of the sort.
So let’s tell the truth — something you won’t find in Miller’s posting.
God doesn’t have a specific plan for your life.
God doesn’t even have a general plan for your life.
The only plan anyone has for your life is the one you come up with. Hopefully, you have the support of friends and family to make it happen. But no gods are there to help or guide you.
Personally, I’m inspired by that. I get to choose how to live my life. I have to find my own skills and hone them. If I make mistakes, I have to learn from them because it’s not like there’s some god out there “testing” me. I don’t have to attribute any success to some imaginary voice in my head.
That’s powerful.
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