Christians, I hope as you’ve been going along with me through Pt. 1 and Pt. 2, you have been gaining some perspective on this ‘game of life’. Hopefully you have turned your thoughts from the physical world we are in now, to the eternal world we will be in FOREVER. Knowing that we need to shift our focus, so we are working towards the proper end, is important. It allows us to look at what we can do to make an eternal impact, in the here and now. The people we impact the most, are the people that we are playing this game with: people around us.
When I mentioned in Pt. 1 about playing with my brothers, I actually wrote that post many years ago, the problem is today, I have not played the game with my brothers in many, many years. We used to love the game, we used to spend hours playing it, but because of HOW we played it, we ruined it. As many of you know, and probably have experienced when playing the game, you tend to make up your own “house” rules. We did. Our house rules changed how the game was played, it sets up situations where some had so much, others had so little, and the whole point of the game was to bankrupt the other players, get all their properties and money, so they had nothing left.
In the last game I played with my youngest brother, I was in a position of dominance, I was positioned to WIN the game. He was contemplating his next move and I went off on a maniacal tirade about wolves, blood, knives, and eskimos, I mean, it was crazy. I was telling him, there is no way he can beat me, in a cruel way, in front of the rest of the people watching us. We were just playing a game, but I was taking it way too seriously and this tirade not only ruined the rest of the game, but I haven’t played with my younger brother since. I apologized afterward, realizing that it was INSANE to act that way over a game, but I truly believe how I played that GAME affected our relationship in REAL LIFE, where it actually mattered.
God is very clear when He talks about how we will be rewarded in heaven. I am not talking about salvation. Jesus paid the price for all of us. However, the way we spend our time in eternity will be based on the things we do here and how we play the game of life with others.
When looking at the people around you: family, friends, church family, co-workers, bosses, subordinates, and anyone you encounter throughout your day to day life, there are plenty of people we are playing the game with everyday. We must look for opportunities to help, serve, encourage, and push others towards winning their game of life.
One major difference between the board game and the real game of life: everyone can win in this life. In the board game, to have a winner, means to have losers, people who did not win, because I won. However in the eternal perspective of life, we play differently by HELPING others to WIN their life, we win OUR life. In our board game, I was only doing well, if you were doing poorly, and I was only doing poorly if you were doing well. In life, I can help someone achieve their goals, fix their life, share their testimony, get closer to God, and it in no way is a negative to me. In fact, the more I serve, the more I lay down my life to help others win in this life, the more I win in eternity. Jesus said, there is no greater love, than to lay down your life. Jesus laid down his life physically, to die for us. There will be some of us who need to do the same to win souls, sometimes that is what it takes. However, there are many ways in which we lay things down, for the good of someone else.
I could list a hundred different ways to help and serve those around us, but to be honest, the ways God can use are limitless. We live in different communities, states, nations, even continents. The basic human needs are the same, and in the book of Matthew, God addresses basic human needs, food, water, shelter, clothes, care. As you go through your life, realize that there are opportunities to reach out and WIN in this life, if we look to help and serve those around us.
Father God, I pray that you open our eyes to the needs around us on a daily basis. I pray that you would help us to take a moment and re-evaluate the importance of what we are focused on in this life. I pray that we would begin to see the people we are doing life with as people on our team, not people we are playing against. May your heart overflow with joy as you see your children playing this game of life together, everyone winning, and everyone serving, loving, and caring, as you did for us, in Jesus Name, Amen.
If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? I John 3:17 (NLT)
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17 (NIV)
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Phillipians 2:4 (NLT)
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:12-13 (NLT)
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25:34-40 (NLT)
His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys. Matthew 25:21 (AMPC)
written and posted by Daniel Poggensee | 2019
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