Hidden Secrets of the God Game

     I have played a few video games in my life.  I liked the "dinosaur" games (the ones created in my youth and not the ones containing prehistoric creatures) more than I like the ones that are on the market today; they were simpler.  There was a joystick with only one or two buttons which usually shot a duck or launched a guided missile in the general direction of what I was aiming at on the screen.  As the controllers have evolved, however, there are more knobs and buttons than I have fingers.  And there are more functions that they perform, independently or in some sort of combination, than I have brain cells.  So, I don't play as much, because I don't want my games to be work.  I did try to keep up for awhile, and before I gave up in total "exasperationexaustion" (my word--if you use it, please send me money) I learned that the games themselves are more complex than the controller.

     It turns out that you don't see the whole game.  There are hidden things.  Secrets and surprises that linger in some other-gaming-world-level, that are lurking and waiting to be found.  First off, let me complain: I do not think that the games I purchase should let things lurk or hide from me.  They have my cash, so I should be given easy access to the secrets and surprises I have already paid for.  Okay, I got that off of my chest.

     Anyway, it turns out that games have manuals.  They are like textbooks.  They tell you things you should look for, how you can get to those things, and how you actually go about possessing them.  Do you know there are chatrooms and websites devoted to all of the little wonders that can be discovered in certain games?  And people spend days just trying to digest all of the little tips that will help them get those treasures.  Usually they are looking for treasures that will give them power and energy.

     I often think about the initial search for God--the one where you think He might be out there somewhere, and the one that you would like to find and get to know about in order to feel His power and energy (or love), and how confusing it seems at first.  I admit, if He were a video game, I would have quit Him; but finding His treasure is a great deal more important than jumping on a mushroom.

     Here's the thing--He has a tech manual that we can read that gives us a great deal of help.  There are also alot of people who have spent time studying the manual and have learned enough to share some tips in books or maybe on MP3.  Did you know that there are also websites on your computer where you might also get a few tips?  And there are chatrooms where friends and family (or even strangers) might be able to give you some pointers.  And, if you are really desperate, you might talk to someone in person.

     I also happen to know that God is always willing to enter into a personal chatroom with just you.  Amazing, but true.

     The question then is this: How badly do I want to discover God's wonderful secrets and surprises?  If you make it important, God guarantees that it will be worth your while.

Undercover God

Hebrews 4:15-16
"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."


     There is a program on television called Undercover Boss.  Maybe you have seen it.  The premise is simple: a CEO or owner (or some other high ranking official) of a business takes a position as a lower level employee while keeping his/her identity hidden.  He or she does this with the intention of discovering many things.  What is most important to the disguised worker is to gain new insight about ways to make the business more appealing to the public, and to create a work environment which builds employee morale and encourages a positive work ethic.  The idea is to make those responsible for the "backbone" of the work feel important and appreciated, so that they will be happy and productive in the performance of their service, and more likely to remain with the company.  The premise of the show, then, is that in order to understand the heart of an often overlooked worker, the undercover boss must become one.  He/she must walk in those shoes in order to experience that heart.
     If you are like me, it is a concept that resonates clearly.  I work for the Postal Service, which is a very large corporation, and I freely confess that not many days go by without some new idea or task being presented to the workers as "This is how we are going to do it now," and when I hear this I often grumble right along with my co-workers.  I say something like, "They (those up aboves who sit in offices) have no idea how things work down here." Admittedly, sometimes their ideas work and sometimes they don't, but I would relish the opportunity to have them perform my duties for a while so that they could at least sympathize with my reservations.  Don't we all wish people could see through our eyes sometimes?  Where we are at in our job becomes far more meaningful when our perspectives and feelings are understood and considered, even if they do not ultimately win the day.  It is an act that lets us know that we matter and assures us that someone cares.
     Our bosses know more about our jobs than we give them credit for, but we don't give them a pass because they have "head" knowledge.  It is "heart" knowledge that wins our approval.  I think that is what Undercover Boss is all about.

     Some people think that God is distant and remote.  We have this image of a being somewhere up in the sky who sees our planet and knows how it works.  But we see this being as distant and aloof to how we feel in the mechanical workings of creation.  This makes it hard for us to feel important and appreciated.
     In Hebrews 4:15-16, we are told that Jesus came to change that.  He came to walk in the same world that often walks on us.  Being God, he knew how the world operated because he made it, but he wantedd to experience how we felt in it.  He did not do this so that he could say, "Been there, done that" or "I was perfect...you be perfect," but instead, he did it so that he could sympathize and comfort us in our trials because he understands how hard life can be sometimes.
     So, if you watch a program that shows bosses (who are ultimately about profit margins) submitting themselves to humiliation in order to feel what their employees feel, and you can believe that it is true, then why should it be a stretch to believe that God (whose profit is you) would do the same?
     And if you think that no one understands what you are going through, spend a little time talking to God.  You might discover that you have more in common than you ever imagined.