Join Mike Miller for the final article in his five part series with the most important subject of all: real life Redemption.
Often, life is imitated in the games we play. Sometimes the game played is a humorous interpretation of life. The classic game of Operation is such a game. You know the game, the one where you try to remove body parts from “Cavity Sam” and yes, he actually has a name. We sometimes play just to hear the buzzer buzz, and to illuminate the red-light nose. Such a strategy would be disastrous in real life but is half the fun when playing the game.
Sometimes, the gameplay involves real life facts. Trivial Pursuit asks questions about various topics in real life. The more rounded your knowledge of past events, the better your chance of winning.
Some games can have aspects that can be directly compared to real life. Monopoly is such a game. The premise of buying property and charging rent is all too real in big business. The more you spend improving a property, the more potential for financial success you will see.
Redemption is another such game that directly relates to real life. With Hero and villain cards reflecting actual people, angels, and demonic beings battling against each other, the parallels to real life are abundant. Rescuing, or redeeming Lost Souls is not only the object, but the name of the game. Anyone playing Redemption for more than a minute knows about the Son of God card that negates everything and rescues a lost soul. It has one purpose, and one purpose only. Rescue a lost soul.
The Bible tells us who the Son of God is. In Mark, at the occasion of Jesus’s baptism, The Holy Spirit (God) in the form of a dove delivered God’s Blessing on Jesus’ baptism.
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
Mark 1:9-11 (NASB)
In the Bible, Jesus is also referred to as the Son of Man. Can you see the lost soul theme in this verse from Luke?
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 19:10 (NASB)
That’s right. In this verse, “that which is lost” are lost souls. I’m sad to say that the lost refers to us human beings. Actually, all human beings are lost. That means, you and I, all of us are lost souls. I’m not talking about lost in the sense of “I can’t find my way around Disney World” lost but lost in the sense of I can’t get to heaven no matter what I do. No matter what I do, I can’t escape the punishment of the sins I’ve committed. So how do souls become lost? In truth, we are born lost.
If we are born lost, how are we rescued? And can we be rescued without the Son of God? God’s word is very clear on this. We are rescued by the Son of God, through our belief in Him, His sacrifice and death on the cross, and His resurrection. We need to confess that we are sinners and that without Him, we are lost. Unlike the game of Redemption, there is no other way of rescue. We can’t get enough points by doing good things. We can’t be good enough. We can’t go to church enough. Nothing short of our belief in Jesus will get us eternal life with Him. As John says…
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 1 John 5:11-12 (NASB)
Simply put, If you have that relationship with Jesus, you have eternal life. Absent a relationship with Jesus, you do not have eternal life. Without Jesus, you are truly an un-rescued lost soul. Redemption has a lot of similarities to real life. And best of all, the Son of God, (the man, not the card) is real and absolutely does win every battle to rescue the “lost souls”, namely you and I.
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