Plan C

Plan A? That's the way things appear on the surface. It's the hand we're dealt or the direction we choose because it's safe and comfortable.

Plan B? That's the option we follow when Plan A doesn't work out well. By chance or by choice, we end up taking an alternate route.

Thankfully there's also Plan C, the plan Christ has for us. Plan C isn't always the obvious way to go, but in time it always proves to be right.

For Abraham and Sarah, Plan A appeared to be childlessness. Struggling to be patient, they cooked up their own Plan B and Abraham slept with Hagar, fathering Ishmael. When the time was right, though, God fulfilled his promise and Sarah gave birth to Isaac in her old age. According to Plan C, Abraham would be the great-grandaddy to more spiritual descendants than anyone could count, and the Messiah himself would come from Abraham's seed.

For Moses, Plan A was the comfortable life of a prince in Egypt as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter. But then, rising up in righteous anger when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses killed the abuser, buried the evidence in the sand, and buried his dreams along with the body. For 40 years Moses had to accept Plan B: taking care of sheep in the no-man's land of Midian. The best he could hope was to keep a low profile and live out his days in obscurity—until a burning bush introduced him to the Lord's Plan C.

For Peter, Plan A was fishing. Plan B was trying to follow Jesus—on Peter's own terms. "You're going to suffer and die? No way, Lord! We'll never let that happen to you!" He found it hard to accept that Jesus' plan included crucifixion. In time, though, Peter finally embraced Plan C and spent the rest of his life preaching the good news of the cross.

For Saul of Tarsus, Plan A was the life of a prominent Pharisee meticulously keeping the traditions of his forefathers. Well-educated and hard-working, he was on the fast-track to success. Then for a while, his life took a vicious detour. His Plan B meant breathing out murderous threats against the followers of Jesus and imprisoning as many as he could—until the road to Damascus became the road to an unexpected transformation. When the church's Enemy Number One encountered Plan C, the Lord he formerly blasphemed changed him from Saul the persecutor into Paul the apostle.

If we're honest, most of us aren't too thrilled with our own versions of Plan A. If what you see is what you get, things don't look very hopeful. On an individual level, many struggle with anxiety, guilt, and depression. On a global level, there's no end in sight for moral corruption of every kind.

Anyone searching for hope will find there's no shortage of Plan Bs to pick from: political solutions founded on the shifting sands of human wisdom, religions based on distorted views of God, shallow attempts to earn salvation by our own good works.

Thankfully there's a third alternative. We don't have to be satisfied with the way things are, nor do we have to pursue an inferior alternative of our own making. God has provided Plan C, the way of the cross. Dying to self and living for Christ, we find purpose for today and forever.

There will never be a better plan.