Design

Be all you can be.
Fulfill your destiny.
Be empowered.
You've heard it all.

If you think that you occurred on this planet by chance, this post might not be for you, unless you're looking for a target of ridicule. Me. But I can take it.

Still here?
So if we're here by design, what is the design for?

When I was a boy, I read a lot of Tom Swift books.
One of them, the one I think of as the most outlandish, had an extraterrestrial being contacting the Swifts via radio.
The being was pure energy and wanted to visit our planet, but needed a way to interact with us in a physical manner.
To bring this about, the being sent a set of plans to build a housing (an exo-suit?) for it to be contained in to interact with humans.
It supplied a design that it could inhabit while here.

Suppose you designed an Aegis warship, armed to the teeth, and no GPS?
All that power, and no direction.
Now imagine a fleet of them, all autonomous, no central control. Hopefully there's some Fail Safe built in, restraining the full capacity of the inherent power.
That's mankind.
Designed to be a powerful force for good, acting in concert with others of it's kind.
But unwilling to submit to the Command and Control system, so the Fail Safes are on.

Often, we go through life, wondering why we're here, wondering what we're supposed to do next.
So we do what we think we're supposed to do, or just want to do, hopefully without malice.

The Christian Church has for years promoted something called Salvation.
"Jesus Saves"  is a catch phrase reflecting that.
That phrase is often mocked with a reference to a bank, or Green Stamps, etc.
What it really refers to is being saved from hell.

God's goal is not to save you from hell.
That's an ancillary benefit to His real purpose.

So what is His real purpose?
And how do I know?

Well, let's review.
You were designed for a purpose.
You're not sure what it is.
You suspect you were meant for something better.
Why would someone design a system like that?
The designer must have left a clue, a manual.

A book that demonstrates it inherent accuracy by describing situations to come, both short and long range, both local and global.
When you see the local or the short term prediction come true, you tend to believe the accuracy of the longer range, more global.
And the veracity of the author.

There is only one book that fits that description.
And a recurring thread or theme of that book is the restoration of the command and control of the designer.

Example:
One guy (Jeremiah) says Israel will go into captivity for 70 years.
Towards the end of that, one of the captives (Daniel) who incredulously has been given the CEO position of the captors asks the Author if the 70 years are about to end.
In answer to the request, he's told about the next 70 groups of seven years which will result in the appearance of the Command and Control.
And when that time is up, Who shows up but Jesus of Nazareth.
Heals the sick, raises the dead, predicts His own death accurately and rises from the dead, seen by over 500 people many of whom gladly go to their death avowing that He is the One.

And what does the One do?

He set up an organization of those devoted to Him to accomplish His goals.

It's accepted doctrine (in Christianity) that Jesus devotees are a "Body", composed of individual members, a body of which He is the Head.

And that Body will work together in unison evidencing a common Command and Control.

They will have a sense of what He wants them to do at particular times.

And exhibit His power occasionally.

And give their lives for Him, the way He gave His life for them.

With a sense of fulfillment, and a sense of purpose .

If you made it this far, thanks for your attention.

Funny thing is is that this all came to me during the music portion of the service this morning.

Along with a particular phrase.

I didn't feel the need to vocalize it.

Then the Pastor sermoned it.

After which, a friend of mine stood up and uttered the phrase.

That kind of stuff clues you in that you're not too far off track.

Gives you a sense of belonging and of purpose.

And fulfillment.

Yep. I'm that wacky.