Contemplative Bible Reading

Acts 3:17-18 (New International Version)

¹⁷ “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. ¹⁸ But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.

Now let’s read these verses from The Message translation

^17-18“And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. But God, who through the preaching of all the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans.

Note the last three words from The Message.

I believe that the audience of Jesus on that day was part of God’s plan. God wanted to accomplish something; He wanted to redeem the world and restore the perfect relationship He created in the beginning. The people of Israel acted in ignorance, but what they did was part of God’s plan.

I believe that everyone alive today and everyone who ever lived are part of God’s plan. The troubling question I ask myself is:

Do I treat everyone as if God created them specifically to be part of His plan?

Oooops. Well, maybe on a good day. That, however, isn’t too good. How would my life be if I truly treated everyone as if they were part of God’s plan? As if everyone were created by God for a specific purpose in accomplishing His intent?

I am afraid that I treat too many people as if they are part of my plan for life, not God’s.