Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
the reset button
battletoads is widely considered to be one of, if not the hardest video game of all time. the third level alone will have most players rage-quitting or throwing their controller across the room. if you somehow survive, you then have yet another impossibly difficult level to memorize-- because the game doesn't save. if you decide to bring a friend along, you better stay on opposite sides of the screen, otherwise you'll probably end up pummeling him to death by accident-- because the programmers decided to leave out the option to have your attacks not hurt each other. even if you could your way through all the levels, bad guys, and speed hazards, you'd get flattened by the clinger-winger. no question about it.
playing battletoads gives the reset button more attention than it should ever deserve. die on the first level? reset. get sick of the jet bikes? reset. snake drop you like its hot? reset. give your ally the big bad boot by mistake? reset. the concept is simple. hit the reset button, and start over. every stupid mistake, every cheat you use, every life you lost; its gone, forgotten, done with. you're back at the start as if nothing happened, and you're welcome to go on your merry way until your next inevitable failure. cause the game just can't be beat.
i kind of feel sometimes that life is like playing battletoads. it is impossibly hard to beat, and quite simply, it won't be done. and mistakes will be made all through the way. but instead of crashing my jet bike into a wall, i may waste time doing stupid things. instead of forgetting to jump at just the right time, i may forget to read scriptures or pray from my heart. i might not be kicking my fellow toad off the screen, but i'll probably say something stupid that hurts a friend, or neglect the people i care about.
at the end of the day, mistakes readily in mind, and with the game all over, i may not want to take the option to continue. i might not want to go forward and keep pushing. sometimes i just want to hit reset and start over. take it all back. but this time i won't say stupid things. this time i'll remember to love people. this time i'll do better.
we won't ever be able to start over in the sense that we go back to where we started and magically nothing ever happened. but we can try again. we can start over. we can repent, we can change, and all those stupid things we do won't be held against us.
God doesn't need us to repent. He doesn't. it won't change who He is, it won't take away His power. but we need it. repentance is for us. we need it, and we need it sooner than later.
yes, we are warned that if we don't repent, we'll be thrown into a lake of fire. that's motivating for some people. yes, we're told about people who didn't repent, who were trampled or struck down by God. that's motivating for some people. but the Lord's invitation to repent isn't coming from an aggressive, angry dictator.
it has been said that "He sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you."
He has invited "all to come unto Him and partake of His goodness; and He denieth none that come unto Him, black and white, bond and free, male and female."
He says "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls," and asks us, "will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?"
this does not sound like Someone who is itching to throw us into a pit of fire. His motivation is for us to be happy. He does not want us to carry the pain we put on ourselves in life. that is why we need repentance. that is why we need Him to change us.
Christ made repentance possible. because of Him we can repent. because of Him we can change. and because of Him, we can forgive each other, we can be forgiven, and we can forgive ourselves.
For "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world, even that He layeth down His own life that He may draw all men unto Him." (2 Nephi 26:24)
(Other scriptures quoted- Alma 5:33, 2 Nephi 26:33, Matthew 11:29, 3 Nephi 9:13)
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| don't fall in the ball pit. we're not at mcdonalds |
i kind of feel sometimes that life is like playing battletoads. it is impossibly hard to beat, and quite simply, it won't be done. and mistakes will be made all through the way. but instead of crashing my jet bike into a wall, i may waste time doing stupid things. instead of forgetting to jump at just the right time, i may forget to read scriptures or pray from my heart. i might not be kicking my fellow toad off the screen, but i'll probably say something stupid that hurts a friend, or neglect the people i care about.
at the end of the day, mistakes readily in mind, and with the game all over, i may not want to take the option to continue. i might not want to go forward and keep pushing. sometimes i just want to hit reset and start over. take it all back. but this time i won't say stupid things. this time i'll remember to love people. this time i'll do better.
we won't ever be able to start over in the sense that we go back to where we started and magically nothing ever happened. but we can try again. we can start over. we can repent, we can change, and all those stupid things we do won't be held against us.
God doesn't need us to repent. He doesn't. it won't change who He is, it won't take away His power. but we need it. repentance is for us. we need it, and we need it sooner than later.
yes, we are warned that if we don't repent, we'll be thrown into a lake of fire. that's motivating for some people. yes, we're told about people who didn't repent, who were trampled or struck down by God. that's motivating for some people. but the Lord's invitation to repent isn't coming from an aggressive, angry dictator.
it has been said that "He sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you."
He has invited "all to come unto Him and partake of His goodness; and He denieth none that come unto Him, black and white, bond and free, male and female."
He says "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls," and asks us, "will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?"
this does not sound like Someone who is itching to throw us into a pit of fire. His motivation is for us to be happy. He does not want us to carry the pain we put on ourselves in life. that is why we need repentance. that is why we need Him to change us.
Christ made repentance possible. because of Him we can repent. because of Him we can change. and because of Him, we can forgive each other, we can be forgiven, and we can forgive ourselves.
For "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world, even that He layeth down His own life that He may draw all men unto Him." (2 Nephi 26:24)
(Other scriptures quoted- Alma 5:33, 2 Nephi 26:33, Matthew 11:29, 3 Nephi 9:13)
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