
‘Good luck’ is a standard greeting worldwide but while we should be grateful for every good wish, I’m not sure I want to leave my future at the mercy of random chance.
Sure, accidents do seem to happen, as do fortuitous coincidences and of course we must take responsibility for the choices we make. And if we’re honest at times we can feel like we’re stumbling a bit in the dark. It’s just…
Sometimes things do happen in ways that make us think there’s a bigger plan and that someone or something is watching over us and in fact all that happens.
As a follower of Jesus I have no problem with this. I’m actually really pleased about it!
God, the Almighty Creator, is my Father in heaven Who delights to provide His children’s needs. The Son of God was willing to die for me but has since conquered death and apparently possesses ‘all authority’ in heaven and on earth. He is building His Church and establishing God’s ‘kingdom’ and invites me to be part of it. The Apostles recorded His promise to be with me, guide me, equip me through the ever-present Holy Spirit.
I guess that’s where some of this sense of comfort and wellbeing and ‘there is a big picture/plan’ comes from.
So I’m not leaving it to luck, no offence. I’m entrusting myself and my family and friends to my Master. Definitely the better option.
We never find the Apostles wishing their readers ‘good luck’ in the New Testament. A more common greeting in Scripture (and one we often use in church) is ‘Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.’ The Apostle Paul uses a variation of these words in all thirteen of his letters, as do Peter and John.
‘Grace and peace’, always in that order. Because we can only know peace in our souls if we humbly receive God’s grace in Jesus. When we know ourselves forgiven and reconciled to Him, we can face whatever challenges come our way with the deeply unique peace given by God’s Son.
So forgive me but I won’t wish you luck, not even the best of it. I’ll pray for you something infinitely greater.
Grace and peace to you and yours, now and always.