Living in God's Perfect Plan: A Message from the Trees

The Question That Started It All

Pastor Tony Schultz begins with a question someone once posed to him: "How do I know whether or not I'm living out God's perfect plan for my life?" It's a question that resonates deeply with many of us. We wonder if we've chosen the right career, married the right person, or made the right educational decisions. These concerns swirl in our minds as we try to decipher what we're supposed to be doing to align ourselves with God's purposes.

The Wisdom of the Forest

Standing in a small grove of trees behind his daughter and son-in-law's house, Pastor Tony invites us to consider an unexpected comparison. Among the oak trees, cedars, and pines, each tree is different—yet all are rooted in the same ground, drawing from the same nutrients. One becomes an oak, another a pine, each according to the seed that was planted. The diversity in outcome doesn't reflect a difference in God's provision, but rather the unique design within each seed.

We Are All Different, Yet All Provided For

Just like these trees, we are all different. We have different occupations, backgrounds, histories, families, friends, relationships, and lifestyles. What makes us unique isn't a problem to be solved—it's part of God's design. The commonality we share is more important than our differences: we're all rooted in the same source of spiritual nourishment, receiving the same divine nutrients even as we grow into different expressions of God's creation.

God's Perfect Plan Revealed

The answer to the original question becomes clear when we understand what God's perfect plan actually is. Drawing from 1 Timothy, Pastor Schultz reminds us that God wants all people to be saved. He wants all people to be part of His family. From the very beginning, when He created Adam and Eve, God has desired relationship with the people He made. Jesus himself declared that He came to seek and save the lost.

This reframes everything. God's perfect plan isn't something we need to figure out through our choices and actions. It's something He has already accomplished through Christ.

What God Has Already Done

The beauty of the gospel is that it's not about what we do to be part of God's perfect plan—it's about what He has already done to engage us in His perfect plan. His plan is straightforward: all people will be saved, all people will know His love and forgiveness gained through the cross. We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. We are God's people, chosen by Him regardless of our background, skin color, or personal history.

God's declaration is simple and profound: "My perfect plan is to have a relationship with you, and for all people to have a relationship with me."

Not What We Do, But Whose We Are

Our occupation, college choices, spouse selection, or friendships aren't the determining factors of whether we're in God's perfect plan. What matters is whether we're like these trees—rooted in the nutrients and soil He provides through His Word and grace, growing toward Him. Our lives become a constant expression of honor to the One who created us, demonstrating that we recognize Him as our maker.

Everything we do becomes an expression of His grace, love, and forgiveness, allowing everyone around us to see that it's not what we do that carries out God's perfect plan. It's simply our being His child and living out our lives as His children that reveals His perfect plan.

The Simplicity We Complicate

We often make Scripture and God's word more difficult than they need to be. This difficulty frequently arises because we're trying so hard to do something that God has already done. He already went to the cross. He already saved us. He already cleanses us. His instruction is beautifully simple: "Be the tree. Grow up and stay rooted in the nutrients of my Word and my sacraments that I've given to you, and I'll take care of you."

You'll grow tall or short, thin or wide, but you'll be His child in relationship with Him. That's the perfect plan.

Pastor Tony Schultz is a retired pastor from Anchorage Lutheran Church, sharing reflections in support of Lutheran Indian Ministries.