Thought 1:
In praying the second part of Psalm 89 (with the people of Israel) this morning, I can completely understand why one must believe in Jesus Christ in order to believe that the Bible is anything except mythology. If David's dynasty was supposed to be established forever, and if Jesus of Nazareth has not fulfilled that prophecy, this alone would be enough reason to reject the validity of scripture.
Thought 2:
If man, without being puffed up or boastful, has a right belief regarding created things and their divining Creator, who, having given them being, holds them all in his power, and if man perseveres in God's love and in obedience and gratitude to him, he will receive greater glory from him. It will be a glory which will grow ever brighter until he takes on the likeness of the one who died for him. - from a treatise Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus, bishop
Yes, God has a plan for our lives, and it is indeed wonderful. It is not, however, a plan without the cross along its way. But it is also not a plan with no one to help us carry it.
We would have love without pain, but the Princess Bride got this much right when the Man in Black said this: Love is pain, Princess. The fact is that the willingness to bear the pain that love brings in this fallen world is what distinguishes love from narcissism. And loving even with the pain it brings is a great gift which God gives us, who loves us and is pained beyond telling for our sake (why can't we understand that what God feels for our sake is more poignant than what we are able to feel for ourselves?) as we choose not to love in return.
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