Analogies

Sometimes I worry so much whether I made the right choice or not, I just pray that I don't "spoil" God's will. But I've come to realise that there isn't just "one correct answer". God, in His sovereignty, is able to use all things work towards His plan. Philip Yancey, in "Reaching for the Invisible God", gives a wonderfully apt analogy of a chess game we play with the Grand Master:

Any classic offense I tried, he countered with a classic defense. If I turned to more risky, unorthodox techniques, he incorporated my bold forays into his winning strategies. Even apparent mistakes he worked to his advantage. I would gobble up an unprotected knight, only to discover he had planted it there as a sacrificial lure, part of some grand desigh. Although I had complete freedom to make any move I wished, I soon reached the conclusion that none of my strategies mattered very much. His superior skill guaranteed that my purposes inevitably ended up serving his own.

Perhaps God engages our universe, his own creation, in much the same way. He grants us freedom to rebel against its original design, yet even as we do so we end up “ironically” serving his eventual goal of restoration… When a Grand Master plays a chess amateur, victory is assured no matter how the board may look at any given moment.

It should not surprise us that a sovereign God uses bad things as the raw material for fashioning good.


And an analogy for the well-loved verse that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us:

A boxer faces a fierce fight in the final round of the wrestling competition. His opponent is a worthy match, delivering several well-timed punches and kicks. The boxer has to focus throughout the fight, otherwise, he would receive fatal blows. He pants hard, he dodges some blows from his opponent. he perseveres through the first round, then the second. Luckily, he manages to sneak a few strong blows to his opponent too. Bloodied and bruised, he summons the last of his strength and sends a mighty punch into the nose of his opponent. His opponent falls to the ground, unable to get up again. Battered, exhausted and covered in injuries, the boxer is finally pronounced the victory and awarded the prize money of $10,000. He barely manages to stagger home. The moment he steps into his house, his wife asks him, “Where’s the prize money?” He surrenders the money to her without any hesitation. All of it.

Jesus is the boxer who battled the devil in a brutal and bloody fight, won the victory, and gives us the benefits and honour of the victor. We - who are more than conquerors - without even lifting a finger, gain his victory. All of it.