God's Plan for Our Lives, Trump Supporters, Hillary Supporters and Animal Sacrifice (Not to Mention Personal Relationships.)

At church today I heard a great message.  Great for me anyway. It spoke to me on so many levels.  It was based on this scripture:

Jeremiah 29:11-14New International Version (NIV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Firstly the pastor defined a plan as a step by step process to get to a goal. 

 Then he continued talking about "the plan of God in our lives."  My mind immediately started wondering what the goal is then.  What is the goal in my life that God supposedly has for me?????  In the past, when I was young and newly in love with God, the idea of God and God's son Jesus, I was very open and vulnerable and soaked up everything that was said in church.  Very slowly my mind turned to trying to figure out how I could live a good life, please God and do what I believed God wanted me to do. And of course all of this was defined in my mind by what I was told.  All the confusing scriptures, like animal sacrifice, women being stoned, and hundred upon hundreds of laws in the book of Leviticus were neatly explained away in doctrinal sermons, and bible school dogma. 

So what IS God's will, God's goal for our lives? I've come to believe it is to love and be loved.  Sounds easy?  HA!  Not so much!  

If I'm correct about the "will of God", then what about the plan? Wellll..the plan is about the situations in our lives and how they will lead us to that goal.. It's about what happens and how we process those day to day situations. It's about how we put them together to reach the goal of loving and being loved.  Firstly it's huge that we need to love ourselves. But that's a whole 'nother blog.  (If we can't love ourselves we'll have a difficult time loving others.  At best, we'll keep them at bay.)

Loving others is tricky too.  The Trump supporters, the Hillary supporters, the terrorists.  

The list goes on.  I've heard more than one person talk about how the political climate is getting them down.  I certainly won't exclude myself from that either.  It's disheartening on the division and hatefulness that's been happening. It almost makes me believe, assuming there is a devil, that he has  us all under his thumb.  

But I digress.

I also had a great talk with my sister today. 

I'd had enough.  A little drama in my own life and I could see myself slipping back into that person who carried the shield of anger proudly; defending myself with "justified" resentment,  whether outwardly or deep in my soul. 

My sister's desire for love and peace seems to be an amazing gift.  Her insight into ego and perspective on how to view difficult situations never cease to amaze me. 

And when she started talking about what a master Jesus was with his own thoughts and perspectives it was like a light went on....bam!  Oh yeah, I get it. She gave me so many words for thought, and believe me, I'll be metaphorically chewing on them for a long time to come.  

I don't think God, or Jesus or the Holy Spirit ever took joy in us killing animals. 

The whole idea of it makes me sick.  And I don't think God took joy in seeing Jesus being tortured and killed either.  None of the horrible things in the bible were things that God wanted to happen. As the pastor said today, plans change.  Plans change based on our decisions and what we do.  The plan in the very beginning is that we would all live peacefully and perfectly in paradise where we ate fruits and berries all day. No blood shed, animals were happy and we were all vegan. Blood shed is the result of a human decision according to my Christian belief. God is not a sadist.

 Again, I digress. 

I'm still a little discouraged in some personal relationships and of course in the big American picture too.  

But it only has caused me to realize that the journey is not over, the plan is still active.  

The last song in church today had me in tears. The goal of the plan of life is to get to a point where we can love and be loved. I'm convinced. It's difficult.  But the words to this song give me hope. 

"Good Good Father"
(Written by Pat Barrett and Tony Brown)

 I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you're like
But I've heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night
And you tell me that you're pleased
And that I'm never alone

You're a Good, Good Father
It's who you are,
And I'm loved by you
It's who I am,
 I've seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we're all searching
For answers only you provide
'Cause you know just what we need
Before we say a word


You are perfect in all of your ways to us

It's love so undeniable
I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
 I can hardly think

As you call me deeper still
Into love.