It all started when I wanted to see what Skip had written today. It turned out to the another in the “Answer” series. It was about sin and the use of color to describe our sins. It was interesting, so I followed the tags… And came here. This is a look at what sin really is, in light of the context of the verse. Interesting. But I kept reading… I read through an interesting look at what Peter meant when he spoke of a weaker vessel and came… HERE. This caught my attention. It’s a seemingly small thing, but the question at the end: What is it about planting and placing that is essential to the purposes of God? really made me stop. Skip reexamines a very familiar passage from the creation story, noting that Adam was placed in the garden by God. You read right past that, too, didn’t you? Sunday school and tradition teach that Adam was created in the garden… but the implications of this is that he was created somewhere else and put in the garden by God for a purpose. Wow. I clearly do not read the Bible nearly as carefully as I thought. If you want to really think, read the post (it’s not long, I promise) and then read through some of the comments (okay, these are long). This is a question that I hope Skip followed up on.
My boys decided 4am was a good time to wake up and that 5am was the perfect time to insist upon getting out of bed. So, they got to watch Veggie Tales for a while to keep them from being so noisy they wake the entire house. This morning we watched “Esther.” I love how Veggies handle the ousting of Vashti – she refuses to make the king a sandwich. But watching it, I started thinking that God had a plan for her, too. We always hear about Esther, God’s plan that made her queen, and how she saved the Israelites from annihilation. But what about Vashti, the queen she replaced? Did God have a plan for her, too? If so, why was it so harsh? Yes. God loved Vashti, and He had a plan for her life. I don’t know whether she was good and kind or if she was manipulative and mean. My guess is that she was typical of most of the people in the court. She probably worshiped whatever god they all worshiped, and she probably didn’t know or care about God’s people. And God’s plan for her included being ousted as queen because she refused to honor a command that would humiliate her and was just plain wrong. She did the right thing and was deposed. I’d like to think that whatever happened after that, God took care of her. But, maybe because she didn’t believe in Him, He couldn’t (kind of like when we want to do things our way and refuse to let God have control). Whatever her history and whatever her future, God knew that if His people were to be rescued He needed someone who cared about them in a position of (relative) power. It’s kind of like Judas. God knew the plan for his life, too. And Paul later says that it’s God’s right to make some jars for noble purposes (like Esther) and some for ignoble purposes (like Vashti and Judas). Whatever the reasons, God is God. He has a plan that ultimately will bring Him glory. And since it’s not about me or us and our glory or happiness (though He does care about that, too), but it’s about whatever accomplishes His plans and brings the most people to Him and brings Him the honor He so greatly deserves, whatever He does is good (even if it doesn’t seem very good to us because we’re on the short side of the stick). Strange the things a cartoon will make you wonder about. Yeah Veggie Tales!