Oh, the Games We Play!

Luke 7:31-32 (Jesus talking)“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

How dare you NOT dance to my tune! How dare you NOT weep at my story!

TANTRUM TIME! We accuse… “You are not my friend, anymore!” We declare our rights… “You’re NOT the boss of me!” We threaten… “You will miss me when I’m gone!” We howl… “I do it ALL for you, and you DO NOT appreciate my blood, sweat and tears!”

You’re NOT PLAYING FAIR!

From a child’s perspective, EVERYTHING is a game in which I MUST WIN! If… no, WHEN I don’t win there MUST be a reason and it surely ISN”T my fault! Rather than admit his/her own culpability and/or inability, a child CHOOSES someone or something else to blame for failure.

Even when our game ends in defeat we plan our next strategy – I’ll do what I have to do!

I KNOW what I WANT and I WILL get what I want!

We think God wants to stop us from being children or at the very least ACTING like children.

We run and hide because we don’t want to grow up!

It’s what children do! It’s what WE ALL do! Yep, that’s right, I’m saying we are ALL children.

We take our inheritance and go have fun, until… we have no where else to go!

All of us walking through and trying to survive this land called childhood, also called the valley of the shadow of death, are trying to play the right music and sing the right dirge trying to be THE STAR of OUR OWN SHOW and earn the applause of our fans.

And Abba waits!

Thank God for His provision (though some lack a sense of gratitude) of the circle of life… an earth built to sustain a people He fearfully and wonderfully made.  Each and every one of us formed by uniting egg and sperm –  babies/infants grown in the intimacy of a woman’s womb – born into this valley and ready to be trained up in the way they should go.

From infants who can do nothing for ourselves, to children who think we can take care of ourselves, to bigger children who provide help and care and love to those who need a “Valley Survivalist”. All children, some of us, “aged” (like fine wine), but all walking through our childhood land – the valley of the shadow of death.

God didn’t create this earth with the intent of death. He created this world to give life – and that abundantly – as we see in the garden He provided. He created everything with the intent of giving it all to the creature made in His image. He created a world that He would enjoy and therefore any creature made in His image would also enjoy and thrive in.

He created us with the HUNGER to enjoy and thrive and He gave us the WILL (the ability and authority to pursue our hunger) – the FREE WILL to choose for ourselves.

Our enemy, who was convinced, we were (or should be) “trash” rather than the “best” of all of God’s creation, came to PROVE to God, not only that He made a mistake in setting us above the perfect angel (he, Satan, the only one worthy of God’s adoration), but he was determined to KILL and DESTROY this “thing” God had made.

He used our hunger to pursue the best life has to offer, and our freedom, ability and authority to determine what that is and choose it OUR life-sustaining, little g – god given mandate for life.

Good for food – check,  a delight to the eyes – check, desirable to make one wise – check. All they needed, Satan surmised, was a little temptation to see that God hadn’t given them everything and that He was withholding the best out of His (God’s) fear they would become greater than Him, and BOOM, God would probably destroy them Himself!

Some might say they were innocent as they didn’t have full knowledge of the consequences – they didn’t have the knowledge of good and evil – they didn’t know Satan was NOT their friend who loved them but their enemy (what’s that?) who hated them and desired to kill and destroy them.

But they knew God, who did love them. They knew God whom they played the flute for you, and sang a dirge for, and walked with, and talked with, and trained with.

They didn’t know DEATH, but they knew LIFE with God. They knew God’s love for them! They were created with His DNA in them (made in His image – His CHILDREN)!

I don’t know, maybe they wanted to TEST that love or maybe they couldn’t conceive of a time when God WOULD NOT play their game… we played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep… because all this time they thought they were the one’s in charge.

I don’t know what they were thinking, but I do know we are just like them in nature… tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men (enemies?), by craftiness in deceitful scheming; (Ephesians 4:14)

Satan tried to kill and destroy God’s children…

BUT GOD! Before Satan, God allowed us to “walk in His shoes”. He allowed us to take His love for granted because we were intimate with our Parent/Provider who was perfect in His desires for every detail of our abundant life. It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13) This was true from the moment of Creation and will be true to infinity and beyond!

Sin didn’t immediately kill and destroy our flesh and blood (the thing we view as life) as Satan intended but it did cause us to be unable to stay in the God’s Perfect Land because the tree of eternal life was there. The tree which produced a fruit that would make the one ingesting it immortal. God refused to condemn His children to an eternity living with the consequences of having  “intimacy” (giving honor to) evil.

Rather than allowing evil to destroy His creation, God sent us out of His land UNTIL He could cleanse us and provide us with His perfect way back to Him and His kingdom. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

Many of us believe and teach that we have to become ADULTS – NON CHILDREN. We must grow up and ACT like saints. And I agree we must be be trained up in the way we should go (Proverbs 22:6) – children NEED to be trained out of childishness (my way) and into becoming the image bearer of our Abba… our Daddy.

Some of us think, like the young man in the parable (Luke 15), we must give up our status as an heir and become God’s slave because we spent all He gave us on childish things. Even slavery is better than suffering in the pigsty we’ve ended up in.

But God… but while we were still a long way off, our father sees him us and feels compassion for us and runs and embraces us and kisses us. (Luke 15:20)

Some of us fear that all God has left for us is slavery, no fun – no bling – no rest from the tasks of being good.

But God… the father said to his slaves (by the way, this would be the angels – like Satan – who were created for this purpose), ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:22-24)

Rather than being like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, (pretending we care about anyone but ourselves) saying, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

We need to stop trying to be the STAR PLAYER of the game and be the children who pursue our GAME MAKER!

It’s true, this side of God’s Perfect Land is not even close to fun and games. It is the valley of the shadow of death (and pain and suffering).

But God… causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

God is our GAME CHANGER!

Romans 8:29-30 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 

I want to play on God’s team of Jesus Freaks!

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.