Put another way, does our Creator have a divine purpose for human beings?
And does He have a prophetic plan whereby His purpose may be worked out here
on earth?
by John Ross Schroeder
We are all dismayed at the death of every single soldier (hopefully, whether
friend or enemy) who has perished in Iraq. The killing of 23-year-old S.Sgt.
Morgan Kennon on Nov. 7, 2003, touched many of us in particular.
He became Memphis, Tennessee's, first soldier to be eulogized as a
war casualty of the second Iraq conflict. A USA Today feature article
said that Morgan Kennon "was a religious man whose poetry gave voice
to private feelings and who fussed over a family left in Memphis" (Dec.
24, 2003).
While reassuring his mother during their last transatlantic telephone conversation,
he told her "not to worry...'God has a plan for me'"
(emphasis added). Though a precious life was lost in a split second due to
a rocket-propelled grenade, and his family was shattered with grief, the divine
plan of God transcends every human death.
His girlfriend in Texas said: "I always thought there was something
special about him." Though every prospective bride probably feels this
way about her future husband, she is so right. Every human being is important
to God—special to Him. Which normal family does not regard their children
in that manner? My wife Jan and I have three children and each one is special
to us.
The Bible's first book tells us that men and women were made in the
image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God does things step-by-step. In other words,
God plans!
God's overall plan can be discerned in the voluminous pages of the
Bible. Yet it may be compared to a jigsaw puzzle in the sense that vital bits
and pieces of that plan are discovered in different books. It is the Church's
sacred task to preach it to this world—crafting it together correctly,
"rightly dividing the word of truth" as the Bible puts it (2 Timothy 2:15).
