So of course I said yes, despite my last – and only – experience with the game. I was probably eleven at the time, and I ended up with two sets of twin boys and dead broke. I figured my odds could only improve.
I was wrong. I inherited a skunk farm (which cost me a pretty penny), owned a goat that ate my neighbor’s prize orchids, and had to get dentures.
Ridiculous game.
To my relief, my niece quickly grew tired of it, and we moved on to something else, but the experience left me thinking: How awful would it be if real life were just a game, subject to random chance?
I am thankful that it isn't. Instead, our lives are orchestrated by a sovereign God. I like what Ephesians 1:4 says: “… he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” God has an individual purpose for the lives of each of His children.
Ultimately, our lives are part of a bigger plan, God’s story of redemption. And at Christmastime, we are once again reminded of that beautiful, miraculous story of baby being born of a virgin – fully God and fully man – coming to earth to redeem lost mankind.
Praise God that life isn’t a game of chance. Sure, we will have our ups and downs – a goat may eat prize orchids or the tire in your car may go flat on your way to work.
But at the end of the day, our focus should be glorifying the one true God with our lives – wherever He has asked us to live, work, and serve. After all, isn’t that what the shepherds did – glorify and praise God and tell others about Him?
Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas!
