The Next Level

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life. Psalm 27:4


The world has gone techno, video game crazy! This year my husband and I even gave my parents a game system. When my family is together the guys, and even some of the girls, are talking about Angry Birds, some game they play on the phone. Games are a huge thing these days.

Our grandson, Joey, received a video game from his cousins for his birthday. They live in another state and the gift arrived a bit late, which worked out well. Since it was separate from all the party chaos, we were able to sit right down and play as soon as it was opened. When it was time for Joey to leave I asked him if he would mind if his grandfather and I used his game while he was gone. “Of course not!” he said. And I thought, “oh sweet boy”, which he is. Then he added, “You can open up some more levels.”

Levels are the name of most games, the idea being, to get farther and farther in, higher and higher up. Listening to Joey, to other family members, to people at work, especially the ones addicted to Angry Birds, I hear it all the time. “What level are you on? Did you get to such and such yet?” Hearing it over and over made me think about my walk with Jesus. What level am I on? Have I gotten to where God wanted me to be at this point in my life? It isn’t a crazy comparison.

I have been tested enough that I know if I don’t get it right, God in His infinite mercy, will give me another chance, whether I want it or not. Mostly I don’t. Just like the gamers. They don’t want to repeat levels because in the game, that is an obvious backward step.

Ask any person who has more than a passing relationship with Jesus if they want to take steps backward and they will tell you no. Of course we don’t. Having achieved any heightened knowledge of God we don’t want to go back to a lesser place and yet, it happens all the time. The difference being that the levels in the game are so obvious while the levels of faith are much more subtle. We don’t see the slips and compromises that take us back a level or two. Sadly, many of us don’t fight nearly as hard to keep our status with Jesus as the gamers do to keep their game rating.

It is not an exaggeration to say that I know many people who are obsessed with Angry Birds right now. It’s the latest cool thing. I know this because when one person mentions it, several others chime in about their experience with the game. If only we were all as eager and outspoken about our experiences with God. There are definitely different levels of faith and like the gamers we should share what we know to open up the next level for those around us who haven’t gotten there yet. It should certainly be our obsession to get higher and higher in our pursuit of God.

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