In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In between these words hangs the mystery of God’s plan. We don’t really have a grasp on the magnitude of God’s plan, or God himself. If we did, we certainly would be very different people. It is my belief that we worship what we know. In other words, we worship as we know. The more we know of God, the bigger He becomes, and we worship a bigger God
Most discussions of God’s plan focuses on God’s plan for man. (God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life….) This can be a form of “Christian Humanism”, making man the focus of, and end of God’s creative program. Theologians have sought to explain and categorize what we know about God. Writers have wrestled with how to live a better, more fulfilling Christian life. The focus on ourselves has increased to the point where it seems that the God of the universe has taken a back seat. In short, we have lost the sense of awe of God.
However, I believe that God’s plan is much bigger than that. I am constantly amazed as I read the Bible. I am amazed at the intricacy of the narrative. I am amazed at the references to things not known to man at the time of its writing. I am in awe of the glimpses the Word of God gives into the unseen world. The Bible is as eloquent in what it doesn’t say as in what it does say. There are things that we will never know (Deut. 29:29). But have you ever wondered why things are the way they are? If only we had the missing pieces of the puzzle it would all make sense. “Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully” (1Cor. 13:12).
Most of us can recite the story of creation, Adam & Eve, the wily old serpent, and the fall of man from God’s good graces. The story of Noah is universally known, as is the story of Abraham, Joseph and Moses. We have all seen Charlton Heston part the Red Sea, and bring forth the Ten Commandments.
The story of Jesus Christ is no secret to any of us; we hear it every Christmas and Easter. If you are a Christian, or attend church with any regularity (that doesn’t make you a Christian, by the way), you have heard something of the second coming and the end times. Maybe you have even thought about what the church is really supposed to be.
But how does it all fit together? Most importantly, why must it happen the way it does? In my conversations with Christians and non-Christians alike, I have found that most people would really like to understand more; we have so many questions about God, life, and life in the hereafter. We all wonder why bad things happen to good people, my non-believing friends want to know why I believe that God would give us only one way to get to heaven.
The bottom line is that we wonder why. What is God’s plan? I ask, “why does God even have a plan”?
As so many would say, “I’m no theologian, but I’ll tell you what I think.” This is my attempt to do just that, to put into writing an organized discussion of the plan of God as I see it. I emphasize that this is what I think, as best as I can understand it. It is my hope that this journey together will help you to think through some of these ideas on your own to see where you agree or disagree.
We will attempt to look at the biggest picture possible, try to understand God’s plan and our place in it. We will try to stick to the scriptures as our narrative, venturing into philosophy from time to time to examine ideas relevant to our discussion.
So we will start at the beginning, at Genesis 1. But what is at the beginning?


