A Winner is You!

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

I’m not a huge video game player and I’ve always said it’s because I’ve got horrible hand eye coordination. Which is the truth, my skills in that arena are pretty weak. But I think the real reason is because video games stress me out. The little characters are my responsibility and my weak skills and short attention span are not going to benefit them at all. If I were at the controls, Mario would never save Princess Peach, Link would never save Zelda and Donkey Kong would never…actually, what was Donkey Kong supposed to be doing anyway? I was just constantly being smooshed by barrels.  The point is, I felt bad that I couldn’t ever win the game for the characters and that added a whole level of stress for me. I preferred games without all the added guilt. The tiny shoe in Monopoly never made me feel bad if I lost!

That doesn’t mean I don’t ever play video games, but I enjoy them a lot more when I can mitigate the stress involved. I willingly give up the controls to someone who can jump and snag a rope in Lego Pirates, or who can throw an apple at the right time to beat the level in Aladdin. Angry Birds was more enjoyable when I used a code that registered all the levels as 3 stars so I can just goof around to my hearts content. I played Plants Vs Zombies for 3 days straight till I beat the game and have enjoyed it much more ever since. It’s so nice to be able to play and think “no worries little plants, I’ve already been through that last level and made it out, this is cake!”

It’s probably sacrilegious to be comparing salvation with video games but that’s what this verse reminds me of a little. Jesus is talking to the disciples about what’s going to happen and it’s not great. There are going to be rough times ahead for them and for the world. But he tells them to take heart, to have courage, to be of good cheer because he’s already overcome the world. Jesus is bigger than any problem here on Earth, he is the solution to the dilemma’s we face and is telling us to be at peace because He’s got this handled. Through His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus has conquered death and gifted us with salvation, a way to spend eternity with God in heaven. Game over!