September 25th blog post

"The Game of Life"

As a young child in the late 70's one of my favorite family games to play was Milton's Bradley's "The Game of Life".  This was a game where you meandered through "life" (aka the board) making money, losing money, getting married, having a family, buying stocks, loosing stocks, borrowing money, paying money back, getting money from opponents, loosing more money, making more money, and on and on.  You worked your way along the board hoping to pass your opponents and beat them to the "Day of Reckoning" space.  This was the settlement space, the judgement space, where if you made it there first, if you beat everyone else there you would get added blessing of more wealth that moved you on to the ultimate goal, the hope from the start of the game to becoming the millionaire, the one with the most cash in hand and winning the game.  It was a game where the focus was totally on you and your goal to was to do whatever it took to make your life comfortable and to make it to the end without real thought for your opponents.  Don't get me wrong, when my sisters hit a terrible space on the board like "go back to start" I did feel for them because I knew how frustrating that was and how much harder it would be for them to think they could win but deep within I was so very happy it wasn't me and I stayed focused on winning with the most cash in hand.

When I think of this favorite childhood board game today I realize that the real "game" of life isn't played much different.  We live very busy lives, focused on our careers and making money.  Credit card debt mounting as we run through life trying to obtain and hold onto the things that we are told we need and that add value to our lives. Our focus can tend to be growing our bank account and getting to the end in comfort, very me centered.

But in our reading today (Ephesians 4:1-3) Paul gives us a different version of the game of life, the Christ like version.  It has a day of reckoning space in it as well and a hope for us to make our goal but the path to get there is played very different and the end goal couldn't be more opposite. We have been called to play this version and to play it well and according to the instructions the "Maker" has given us and has shown us how to play himself.  In our life our focus isn't supposed to be on us and how comfortable we live.  Our focus is supposed to be on others and seeing them succeed strong and coming to an understanding of the hope we live for, the hope found in Jesus Christ.  Through our lives and actions we are called to be a blessing, a voice of encouragement, a cheerleader of support, a source of joy, a well of love, a burden bearer, a gentle instructor, a patient friend, arms of comfort, a unifying peace maker, a humble heart, a caring truth speaker, a light of Christ; we are called to reflect the one we call Father so that through us He is glorified and others come to know the hope and future found in him. 

How do I play this Christ centered version of life in a world that bombards me with "me centered" instructions and values?  I need to lean on the grace that Christ has given me (Ephesians 4:7), I need to seek the source of all those things that are available to me so that I am filled, ready and able to pour them out to others (The fruit of the spirit Galatians 5:22-23).  I need to pray, I need to read, I need to continually ask the Lord to help me be aware of stumbling blocks and to strive toward living a life that is worthy of the calling, that is worthy of being called a child of God.  I need to remember to take it moment by moment and be aware of who is around me, who is in need, who is watching.

Be assured that I fail all the time at playing this version of Christ life.  I often feel as if I land on the go back to start space but when I do the Lord is right there with me ready to help me experience his blessing, his encouragement, his support, his joy, his love, his instruction, his comfort, his peace, his truth, all so that I am ready and equipped to get back into the game and help others along the way.  What I have learned when I do live according to the calling I have been given is that no matter my circumstances, when my focus is on the Lord and my heart set to serve I have a peace, a joy, and satisfaction that comes from knowing that in the end we all make it to the end space together, to the hope we live for, our heavenly home where our calling is complete.