The Only Plan

How could God let that happen?  I’ve been asked that questions numbers of times over the years as a first responder chaplain on scene standing with family members in the aftermath of a sudden death.  The mother of the son who overdosed, “How could God allow that to happen?”  The father who found his daughter after she hung herself, “What kind of God would allow my little girl to do such a thing?”  The mother of two precious little girls whose estranged husband murdered them and then took his own life, “Where is God in all this!?”  I’ve never tried to answer that question.  But I’ve heard others make an attempt along the lines of, “Well, God has a plan.”  God has a plan amid the most heartbreaking circumstances a human being could ever experience?  On one hand, excuse my language, but sure he does, “no shit, Batman!”  God always must have a plan if we believe he is omniscient and all knowing, not only now but in the future, right?  But on the other hand, excuse the sarcasm, but “so what!”  Whatever God’s plan might be coming out of a tragedy, or for anyone to a much lesser degree experiencing a hardship, it certainly was not him orchestrating an overdose, suicide or murder to fulfill some unrealized plan in someone’s life.  Maybe you might disagree.  Some will.  Some do believe we have tinkering God.

German theologian, Helmut Thieliche, wrote, “If God does not give us a list of laws and detailed directions for carrying them out, if he does not lead us around by the nose in the most minor matters, he desires to make us into mature sons and daughters, confident that we love him and that in this love we will discover the right thing to do.”  God does not have a plan for our lives which includes him tinkering with our emotions by causing great heartache and tragedy in our lives.  Another question I am asked quite often on scene is, “What do I do now?”  My responses usually revolve around having them call family members and friends to come be of help or helping them engage a funeral home or offering ideas on how to speak with children about a tremendous loss.  But on the other hand, there is no more a potent prayer to God than, “What do I do now?”  Might it be that the only real plan God has or has ever had is that we find him, find love, love him and love others.  Tragic loss is only tragic because of love.  If we didn’t love so much, loss wouldn’t hurt so much. 

God knows that life happens, whether good, bad or evil.  I don’t see God tinkering with our life events for us to get on track or back on track with some “plan” God has for our life.  We might argue that Jesus was and is the summation of God’s plan, the only plan, the final plan for all humanity.  And that plan embodied in the life of Jesus was love.  God knows the pain and heartache of losing a son and he would never wish that upon anyone so they could discover a plan for their life.  But when tragedy or loss strikes, we might all pray, whether we know it is a prayer or not, or to whom we are praying, “what do I do now?” Only the plan of God’s love will heal a broken soul, in time.     

God (Father, Son, Spirit) will always be a source of wisdom when our plans become complicated or uncertain.  But even then, we hardly discover the perfect plan lest it be love.  Augustine is known to have said, “Love, and then do what you like.”  The only plan.