GAMING QUEST

Today’s post is part of the Christian Writer’s blog chain. This month, our theme is “Quest.” Please visit my friends’ blogs by clicking on the links in the right-hand column.

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Do you speak gamer language? 

1337-speak (pronounced “leet” speak) uses numerals to stand for the letters they resemble visually. E.g.: 

the numeral 1 = the letter L

the numeral 3 = the letter E

the numeral 7 = the letter T

1337 = LEET

Keyboard shortcut talk: We all know LOL (laughing out loud). How about ROFL (rolling on floor laughing); TY/NP (Thank you/no problem); AFK (away from keyboard)?

Catch phrases: On birthdays, our son reminds us (from the game Portal) that "The cake is a lie," meaning that a promised reward is merely a fictitious motivator.

So when I was thinking about the theme of quest, I was delighted to find this definition in computer gaming: a quest is an objective to be achieved. But this objective comes with a caution: "Strange things will happen if you perform quests out of sequence."

That reminds me of Jesus.

The Bible is filled with scripture prophesying Jesus’ life. A few of the many include:

Proverbs 30:4

Isaiah 6:9-10; 7:14; 9: 5-7

Hosea 11:1

Jeremiah 23:5-6

Psalms 22:18; 78:2 89:3-4; 110:1; 110:4

2 Samuel 7:12-16

Micah 5:1

Zechariah 9:9; 11:12-13

Haggai 2:7-9

What if Jesus had come out of sequence? 

What if Jesus had come to save all mankind for all time right before God wiped out humanity with the flood and started over? That would have been out of sequence. It would have been strange. 

What if Jesus had come to earth before the Old Testament Hebrews received the law? What if he had come before all those cumbersome obligations of legalism had weighed the Jews down? The “Good News” wouldn’t have been as “good” as it is. 

That would have been strange. 

Nor did Jesus come to earth as a rhinoceros. That would have been really strange. 

Instead, Jesus came at the proper time, in the proper sequence, and in the proper way for God’s ultimate plan and glory.  

On our own, we can’t just go from birth to death to heaven. That’s out of sequence.  

Part of the journey God means for us to participate in during this earthly game—our quest—is to find Jesus. To accept Jesus’ gift of salvation. To believe. To grow in our faith. To live our faith.  

We need to perform that quest in sequence. Otherwise, we will understand the painful gaming truth: the cake (the belief that we go to heaven as long as we’re good people) is a lie.  

There is only one truth worthy of our quest. Jesus. He is the truth, and the way and the life.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for your truth in Jesus. Help us in our quest to find you, to grow our faith and to live our faith. Amen.

 
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you find Jesus’ teachings where you least expect them?