Do we attribute life’s blessings to love or luck? Many of us tend to say “I was lucky” rather than acknowledging God’s sovereign hand at work in our lives. The truth is, we are loved by the one true God who created all things and made his love known for us by dying on the cross for our sins. When things go well, these are gracious gifts from the God of the universe for us to enjoy here in the land of the living. When we rely on luck, we dismiss God’s role in our lives. The Bible teaches that love is an intentional covenant, and rooted in who God is, while “luck” is a worldly concept that attributes chance for our good fortune and dismisses God’s sovereign power at work in our lives.
What the World Means by “Luck”
Luck is chance, coincidence, or random circumstances that unfold for our benefit. We wish people “Good luck” in hopes that chance will bring goodness into a situation. Other times, we declare “things just worked out” to note we aren’t sure how events coordinated so well, but we are glad for the resulting impact. We attribute mishaps, frustrations, and failures to “bad luck.” Meaning for no particular reason other than randomness, things took a turn for the worse. Luck removes responsibility, intention, choice, or divine purpose from events. Luck is a mysterious force that pushes in and out of our lives. Luck is not something that can be controlled, but it’s something we are all hoping for.
What the Bible Teaches about Love
When you enter into a relationship with God, the world, our lives, and the events we observe all around us take on more meaning. Randomness does not control the universe; God does. As Christians, we learn that a God of love is in charge of all things. The love the Bible describes is agape love. It’s selfless, sacrificial, unconditional, and action-oriented. God represented the highest form of love through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. The God of the Bible reports that he is an active part of our, his children’s, lives.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes love this way: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes.”
And God is the embodiment of this love. 1 John 4:7-8 tells us, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
God’s love is a constant. It is not dependent on circumstances. We must trust that even when life is challenging, God’s love is still present. Our circumstances are something he promises to walk us through. His love sustains us, it guides us, it saves us from Hell, and it never leaves us. Luck changes, but God’s love is reliable.
God’s Sovereignty Supercedes Luck
According to scripture, God is sovereign over all events. Proverbs 16:9 teaches, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” While he allows us the gift of free will and gives space for forces of nature to run their course in our world, nothing happens without his knowledge.
Romans 8:28 promises, “ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The exact extent to which God ordains events is a mystery, but we know that He is involved enough with our lives to ensure that goodness can be found by those who love Him. Direction is provided for those who invite his guidance. And we are so cared for that He even knows the number of hairs on our head; we are not a happy accident or a random grouping of cells (Matthew 10:29-30). We were made on purpose with a purpose.
When we attribute our ability to cope, our good fortune, or even our struggles to luck, we are failing to see God’s role in our lives. He is there to help us, to guide us, and he is aware of every twist and turn we endure. God wants to be a part of our story. He does not want us to hand out testimony over to the meaningless force of luck. For the believer, coincidence is divine orchestration.
The beautiful thing about our relationship with our God is that the love he offers is covenant-based. We don’t have to gamble on luck when we have a God who desires to guide our steps and provide for our needs. God is faithfully committed to us as his adopted sons and daughters once we ask Him to be the ruler of our lives. As we live with obedience and faith, we trust God to lead and bless us. God's way leads us to the best possible outcome for our lives. This does not mean an easy future, but it means we will live under the shadow of his wings and for His glory.
Luck often fails us, but God never does.
Love Requires More of Us
In this loving relationship with God, there is an expectation that we will obey God’s way and live sacrificial lives. Luck requires nothing of us, while love requires an exchange between the involved parties. We show our love for God by following his ways, and God’s love was put on display through the cross, as well as the million ways he cares for us throughout our lives.
John 14:15 states, “If you love me, keep my commands.” Reminding us that the loving relationship we have with God requires that we keep his commands. John 15:13 declares, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Reminding us that God loved us so much that he was willing to lay his life down for us. A relationship with God changes us; it requires us to be engaged with our Creator, while luck is passive.
We must recognize that relationships require love, not luck. Relationships don’t “just work out”; their success or failure is dependent on our efforts. Our world is a place where the powers of good and evil are at odds. Sin is part of the human condition, so we must anticipate hardship, rather than being sidelined by it. God calls us to persevere through trials.
Colossians 3:12-14 reminds us, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Colossians describes the best way to treat others and interact with the world around us. Love is what holds our relationships together. As we grow in our walk with the Lord, we shift our thinking from luck-based thinking to love-based faithfulness.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Dayne Topkin
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