The Nature of Chance

 The French poet and novelist, Anatole France, once wrote, "Chance is God's alias when He doesn't want to reveal Himself."

Hmm. I'm not so sure about that. By which I mean, I'm not convinced that God directly intervenes in the affairs of our world. I know that many Christians believe this, but I wouldn't put it quite so precisely, quite so unequivocally. I would rather say, there are moments of grace in our lives, when God gives us a nudge. I have blogged about what I mean by grace here. 

I believe that God does occasionally give us nudges, by heightening our awareness of a situation, of a particular moment in time, so that we can decide what to do, in which direction to head, how to respond. But it is our choice, our God-given free will, that makes the decision. I don't believe that God would ever take that away from us, by direct intervention.

I also believe that it is up to us to be sufficiently awake to be aware of these moments of grace in our lives, so that we seize the chance that is in front of us and make the best of it, for ourselves and others. This we can do through what I call sacred living, weaving moments of attention into our lives, and noticing the miracles, wonders, and moments of serendipitous grace that surround us.