Friday, May 12, 2017

SORRY!










 The 1930’s brought us many board games, among them Monopoly, of which we all make up our own rules, and SORRY! where you don’t.  But a few weeks back, after a spaghetti meal at Dustin Arms, I sat with a few girls who were playing SORRY!, and they asked me to join in.  Now I have been playing SORRY! for over 55 years, my Grandma had the original game my father played, and I knew all the rules, the strategies, and the fun of sliding into your opponent.  With the ultimate goal of getting all your pieces home.  But these girls knew none of the rules, they didn’t know you only came out on a 1 or 2, that 4 only went backwards, that with an 11 you could change positions with an opponent, and split a 7.  They didn’t know about sliding, except on your own color, and didn’t even go home, they kept going around the board endlessly.  When I tried to explain the rules, they got exasperated, and one finally told me “you don’t know how to play the game.”  And there was no way to convince them different.  So I left, them still going around the board, missing out on all the fun SORRY! could give them, feeling sorry for them.  They had the same board and the same pieces, just not the same objective.  There was no way to win....they kept going around the board never knowing the truth.  They never knew what drawing the SORRY! card meant, and no one ever won, but no one ever lost either.  All the fun was gone, because they didn’t play the game as it was intended.  And I didn’t know how to play....
Many Christians live their life that way, going around the board without knowing the rules, or the rule maker.  Making up their own set of rules, they try to fit in, and when someone tries to show them the right way, they rebel, sometimes taking their game and leaving.  True, sometimes the rules are forced on them, by those who don’t know you cannot legislate love, but they never knew the truth, only saw the headlines, and the notes from the pastor.  They played the game, but were never in it, never losing, but never winning either. 
When we become a Christian we are promised eternity.  But when does eternity begin?  Like infinity, it has no beginning, so going back as far as you can you still are in it, and going forward you will always have more time to go.  We are not taught that eternity is right now, that we are in the midst of it, and it is quality as much as quantity.  Ever have an old saint tell you “I’ve been in church for over 30 years, didn’t tell me about God,” confusing seat time for heart time.  But it is the quality of life we can enjoy now in Jesus, that many substitute for life after death, which we get, but can have the benefits today.  If we turn to the spirit for guidance, and lean not on our own understanding.  Or we can live life like the girls playing SORRY! by their own rules.
It is a weakness when we try to figure out solutions based on our own intellect.  When we do, we become bored, change the rules, or disobey them, ending in frustration.  Our own programs leave us uninterested and bored, leaving us not wanting to be involved.  We lose interest, fall back on our old ways, and soon the joy is gone.  But the problem still stays, with a new set of players.  Where God walks in and is told “you don’ t know the rules.”  Maybe not, but I know Jesus...
How often have you planned and planned and yet God did it his way, and for your benefit?  With blessings you never imagined?  That is the quality of eternity now in the spirit, the “on earth as it is in heaven,” of the Lord’s prayer.  The words of Jesus to his disciples, on how to pray.  The spirit giving life despite our input.  Have you ever asked God to work through you, then did what you had planned anyway?  Do we cry like a baby when we don’t get our way, and complain God doesn’t answer your prayers?  Maybe...if we saw that every obstacle is an opportunity for Jesus to show himself in our life, to make us a true witness of his grace and mercy.  In him we get to reveal his glory, grace, wisdom, and power, no matter the situation.  For when we are weakest, his strength is made perfect.  Now, not after death, but today, right now!  We invited him into our lives, not just for the future, but today, which yesterday was tomorrow.  How little meaning time has when we spend it in the eternity of the right now of Jesus. 
Looking back, we see more than if we looked ahead in the spirit.  If only we trusted him as much before as we do after, eternity would be revealed in us everyday.  You can experience that eternity now in Jesus, by listening for his answer in prayer, by staying in the word, and letting the spirit guide you.  Finding that if you do, you have a greater chance of never having to say you are sorry.  And meaning it!  You see games have rules, and the game is played to win.  The young girls that day had no idea what they were missing, and didn’t want to know.  Does that sound like you and your relationship with God?  You need the spirit, the rule of love, and forgiveness.  Right now.  Those girls never knew the object of the game was to get home, just like Jesus calls to us now.  To come home to God, be forgiven, and walk in his spirit eternally.  With the blessings now and forever.  God’s way, not ours.  If that that you have heard from the beginning is in you, you have eternity now.  You will be abiding in the father and the son, and the spirit.  NOW!  And live a life you never dreamed of in the spirit.  If not, all you can say is “sorry.” Now you know...life to some just a game, but to those of us who know Jesus, it is eternal life. Which gives us a monopoly in the spirit!  To which I am never sorry...for to some life is a bored game only...but in both only the right way will get you home. 
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com