A little child shall lead them.

With all the changes in our nation because of Homeland Security, I am wondering if I will have trouble mailing a dart to Rome this week.
Much of the world has transfixed on the office of the Papacy in light of the retirement of Pope Benedict the XVI and subsequent conclave beginning this week to select a new Pope. With every mention of these events has come speculation about who this could be. Because so many inquiring minds want to know, the Vatican has installed a false floor in the Sistine chapel under which will be jamming equipment to shut out outside interference so that the selection process may be more an act of the Holy Spirit rather than human device.
It was this very need to take into account the weakness, subjectivity and potential for the abuse of power which caused those first disciples, including the first pope, Peter, to draw straws to determine which of two qualified candidates would replace Judas Iscariot as the 12th Apostle. In the Old Testament a similar device was employed in order to preclude human frailties in making decisions which should only be made by God Himself. This first appears in Exodus 28:30 where two devices known as Urim and Thummim were mentioned. Though we don’t really know what they were or how they were used, we believe they were used in some way to seek to determine God’s will on a particular matter.
While measures have been taken to protect the 115 Cardinals gathered in Rome from the outside world influencing or determining the selection of the Pope, this method does not protect that decision from the outside influence that resides within the mind and heart of each of these very human Cardinals.
All of us are prone to the same weaknesses and easily see the “splinter” in another’s eye while missing entirely the “log” in our own. Every organization and religious body deals with the same dynamics arising from our fallen human condition. Cardinals, pastors, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Republicans, Democrats, Americans or Russians we are all alike on the inside.
Now back to the dart. Here is my proposal. Acquire a dart board, say 4′-6′ in diameter and place it on the wall of the Sistine chapel. Place on that dart board the pictures of each of the 115 Cardinals. After this task is completed, open the front doors and find the first child who looks old enough to hold, aim and release this dart (taking measures to protect the priceless works which might be damaged by an errant throw!). Blindfold that child and point them in the direction of the board an appropriate distance away. Whomsoever’s picture they hit becomes pope!
The problem with this approach is that it removes power, politics and human partiality from the decision making process. We want God’s will for our lives … within reason. And that is the problem. Our problem is not knowing God’s will. God earnestly wants for us to know His will, plan and purpose for our lives. God’s plan for our lives will ultimately bring the greatest possible satisfaction. Why won’t we let go of our own plan and embrace the exciting adventure into the unknown God has planned.