“Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.” Proverbs 19:21 CSB
I’ve been making a new friend this year, C.S. Lewis. Lewis was a British theologian. He was born in 1898 and died the same day as President Kennedy, Nov. 22, 1963. He was born into a Protestant family in Ireland, he was sent to boarding school in England a month after his mother passed away when he was 10. Lewis publicly wrestled with his faith. At one point in his life, he rejected God completely. He became an atheist. He was teaching at Oxford when he met J.R. Tolkien and they became drinking buddies, they formed a group called the Inklings. The Inklings would sit around drinking beer, smoking cigars and debating faith. It was this group that brought him back to faith in Jesus. One night, on a long walk home with Tolkien and another friend, Hugo Dyson, he came to the realization that the proof was indisputable. Not only did Jesus exist and God was real, but he needed him in his life. Lewis spent the rest of his life going from “self scrutiny” to “self forgetfulness.” He wrote over 30 books and is one of the most widely read theologians to date. He planned to disprove there is a God, but God had bigger plans for his life.
This morning, as I was getting to know my friend better, he gave me new insight into living with Christ. In his book, “Mere Chrisitanity” he talks about our lives like a house. When we first accept Jesus into our house, he does the main repairs. He fixes the leaks we have, repairs any damage we may have done to our house, all things we know we need to work on in our lives. We’re ok with this, because we knew we needed some work. But then God starts doing things we don’t expect. He starts changing the house in ways we didn’t want it to be changed, it hurts and it doesn’t make sense. He starts adding on additions, tearing down walls, creating an entirely new plan for our house. Why in the world would God do this? Lewis says the answer is simple, you thought God was going to make your house into a neat little cottage, but God has bigger plans for you. He’s building a beautiful mansion, one in which He will dwell.
God has much bigger plans for you than you have for yourself. We make our plans, but God’s will prevails, always. Instead of a little cottage, He gives us a mansion. A mansion takes a lot of work to build, over time, but in the end it will be made perfect. But none of us will become the mansion God intends us to be in our lives if we don’t give Him complete ownership of our house. If we want to be all God has planned for us to be, we have to let Him have control. He’s the builder, we’re the raw material. When’s He’s finished, we won’t be able to recognize ourselves. His plans are always best, but not always easiest, His work always perfect.
