27th August 2013

I lost 20 troops in my last assault against the Congo. It was the only territory standing in my way from controlling the great African continent. Wave upon wave of brave green soldiers crossed the borders from the adjoining territories, only to be wiped off the board by one, lone yellow sentinel, who stood unmoved and undaunted, and who belonged to the army of my youngest son. It’s a cruel game, Risk. There’s a place for strategy and timing and ambition and adventure, but victory or death still depends a lot upon the roll of the dice.

But not with God. There’s no element of risk in the way that he plays. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it wherever he pleases,” says the Book. “Not a sparrow can fall to the ground apart from the Father’s will,” said Jesus. Big things and small, they all operate under the sovereign will of the Master of the Board. Every continent, every country, every city, every citizen, every sceptre, every sparrow. None of it at the dictate of luck. All of it subject to the controlling hand of God.

And yet, who can really see it, for it all seems so chancy and random and unpredictable. And how can the gut-wrenching moments be part of his plan? And how can the terrorists who terrorize the territories be in the hand of the Lord, without his squeezing them to death? And yet some soldiers, one Friday morning, under the orders of a governor placed in position by an emperor, terrorized the man from the territory of Judea, and in so doing, fulfilled the very salvation plan of God.

DM 27^th August 2013