God's Plan vs Man's Expectations

Last week I introduced this series of articles under the theme of Breaking the Addiction of Tradition. The basic focus is to see how man has often taken God's truths, altered them in some way, resulting in a tradition that no longer embodies God's truth.

This week I want to take a step or two back into our calendar and consider once more the birth of Jesus. For many years I have been taught that God has a plan for your life. Likewise, parents, friends, and even ourselves have expectations about what our life should be. Too often we believe that God's plan is to fulfill our expectations. We can see the conflict that these two views present by looking once more to God's promised Messiah and man's expectations for the baby born in Bethlehem and the life that Jesus lived.

Throughout the Old Testament, God spoke through His prophets of the One who would come to reign and make a radical difference in this world. In Isaiah 9:6-7 God spoke regarding the birth of a baby and His reign on the throne of David forever.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon His shoulder,

and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end, on the throne of David

and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness from this time forth

and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

Prior to the birth of Jesus, God sent angels to both Mary and Joseph to clearly tell them that the baby that Mary was carrying was the Son of God and that He was coming to save people from their sins. Jesus would confirm this same wording during His ministry when He proclaimed, "I am come to seek and to save the lost."

God's plan for Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, was always a spiritual one to bring salvation to man by offering His own Son as the ultimate sacrifice for sin in order that man might be restored in right relationship to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

But man's interpretation of the prophets' words and the coming of a Messiah who would reign forever differed from God's plan. Man saw the Messiah as a warrior like David who would overthrow Rome, validate the multiplicity of laws that had been developed by the Pharisees, bestow favor on the religious elite, and bring peace through might and power over surrounding national enemies.

From then until now, man has still looked to Jesus as God's golden goose who will meet all wants and needs, physical and emotional; provide peace by defeating all of man's enemies, and lifting up the strongest while casting aside the weakest. This tradition has become the view of many people regarding Jesus.

This tradition is far from the truth of God's purpose and plan. God's plan focuses on the spiritual dimension of who He created us to be. Through the prophets He spoke that not only would the Messiah reign but He would also suffer. To accomplish God's plan, Jesus did not go to war to defeat the Roman legions, He went voluntarily to the cross to die for man's sin. God raised Jesus from the dead to verify His acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice in our behalf. God's truth calls on us to put our total faith in Jesus, the one who paid the price for our salvation, not in a tradition of one who exists to make man's life prosper in this world.

This week, I encourage all of us to be readers and students of God's Word that our eyes might be opened to God's truth and allow Him to lay aside the misunderstood tradition in our view of Jesus. May we be willing to drop our expectations where they are in conflict with and outside of God's truth.