roadcrew 40|3

Christians, there is a popular game that people, myself included, enjoy playing.  It has many pieces, little tokens, real-estate, railroads, utilities, currency, a jail, houses, and hotels.  The game’s point is to collect properties of the same color and then build houses/hotels on them so that when you have other people land on your spaces, they pay you rent.  There are many variations of this game, from movies, TV shows, food/drink, and animals. The names of the properties and tokens change, but the basic principles of the game remain the same.  I will be talking about this game, so hopefully you are familiar with it, so that you can understand the revelation that follows.

I was thinking about this specific game that my brothers and I really, really enjoy playing.  My wife does not like playing with me, and my sister-in-law refuses to participate or even watch us play (with very good reason).  I personally think that we are not trying to be bad, but we do get a bit intense.  The wheeling, dealing, yelling, laughing, and fun.  Whether it’s 3 hours or 8 hours we play and play until the game is over, but ultimately when it’s over, we fold everything up, put it all in the box, and put it away.  After all, it is just a game.

Not one of us has ever tried to sneak a few $500 bills in their pocket, no one has ever tried to stick the electronic game debit cards into their wallet to use later.  It would be laughable, ridiculous. The game does not translate into the real world. We do not really “own” any hotels, houses, and all the rent we collect is fake. DURING THE GAME – the deals and trades in the game are as binding as law, they matter, they affect the play and the outcome, but when the game is over, we are done, they no longer matter at all.

Christians, our life on this earth, is just like that game.  When we get saved, we become aware of what this life truly is about and we are no longer fooled by the ways of this world that make it seem like the currency and our position in this world really matter.  Do not get me wrong, as long as I live and breath – I am playing this game called life, using the currency, etc. However, the Lord says to store up treasures in heaven.  I know that I need not hoard wealth, or chase after houses/cars because they are definitely a means of navigating this life, but definitely NOT the goal for this life.  Encourage yourself by what you have not seen yet, not by what IS seen now.  For God rewards those who are faithful to Him to the end.

At the end of this life, God will fold up the board, put all these earthly pieces away, and bring out the real reason we are living, the new heaven and the new earth.  It will not be about how “well” you played the game, how much you accumulated, how many houses, cars, or how much money you had. It will be about how you loved God (obeyed His leading over your life), despite playing the game, and how well you treated the others playing with you, a lesson my brothers and I should take to heart.  I pray for strength and guidance from God, so we can all play this game well, and we can all win, not just for now, but forever, In Jesus Name, Amen.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves cannot break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:19-21 (NASB)

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  Revelation 21:1 (NIV)

Do not love the world or anything in the world.  If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. I John 2:15-17 (NIV)

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. II Corinthians 4:18 (NLT)

Next Time: This Game of Life Pt. 2: The Currency There

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written and posted by Daniel Poggensee | 2019