This is the text copy of the devotion I presented in my Souls Week stream of Elden Ring on Saturday, November 2, 2024. You can watch/listen to the highlight on Twitch by clicking here.
My original plan for the Extra Life marathon this week was a joke. Not in the sense that it was going to be terrible, but that I found it amusing and felt others would, too. That plan? Make myself suffer through a Dark Souls game, dying repeatedly for the entertainment of viewers, letting them take joy in my frustrations and potentially donate pity dollars to Extra Life. People have always enjoyed the Souls games simply because they’re difficult, and it took me a long time to understand why that was good in their mind.
Welcome to Souls Week: my week-long marathon for Extra Life, but also a series of discussions about why starting again and persistently struggling isn’t as bad as it sounds. This is Day 7, Part 2: The Light of the World.
Here we are at last at the final devotion of Souls Week. We began by acknowledging that we live in a fallen world and that God is the cure we seek. We are each of us called according to His purpose, and it’s His purpose that prevails. If we humbly repent, we can be reconciled to God and restored. We will still have to deal with our inner struggles, but we can look to Him to sustain us. We might fall into the ever-present trap of idolatry, but His Word can teach us how to lay up our treasures in heaven. He is our hope, and the trials we endure teach us to be patient for assurances. We have to stay in the Word to ensure we don’t lose sight of what is good or cause others to turn away. All of this is a basic list of aims in the Christian walk of sanctification. Basic, but not simple. The fallen world around us can make many of these aims seem daunting or even impossible. John 3:19 says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Not only do we have to contend with our own deceitful hearts, but we have to prevail against the forces working for and through other people.
But why? Why must Christians do this? Well, let’s look back at the devotion from this morning. If you missed it, I spoke about how we must have love for others–and that love means sharing the good news so that they can also be saved. To further this, Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” In other words, we are to be a living example to others.
I am absolutely not talking about the Christians who present their lives as nothing short of perfect, pristine and blessed. It’s a lie. No life in this world is perfect or without mess. There may be an abundance of blessings, but a Christian being genuine while also in the world and not of it is going to have problems and struggles and sin just like anyone else. And that is a lie that does more harm to the lost than anything else. The broken people in the world–and someone listening may be one of them–don’t need Christians to look perfect. The only perfect person to walk this earth was Jesus and He is the only role model we need. John 12:46 affirms it by saying, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” What the lost and broken need most is someone who can relate to them, someone who’s been there and knows the hurt, but has also clung to the Word and given their life to God, to show others that there is something more to strive for.
In this last game of the week, Elden Ring, there are countless comparisons I could make to salvation and sanctification, but the only one I want to focus on is this: The Greater Will summons a group of exiled Tarnished, giving them immortality so that they can repair the Elden Ring. They all have names and titles and skills to differentiate them from each other with the exception of the player’s character: a Tarnished of no renown. And it is that one who determines the fate of the Lands Between, who makes the difference in the struggle.
Just as it was baby, a carpenter’s son and God’s own son who came into the world to save us all. John 1:4-5 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” There is no darkness that can overcome you if your heart is in Jesus.
God, thank you so much for every listener hearing my words today, whether they’re watching the stream or checking out the video at a later time. If I have accomplished nothing else this week, I hope that by sharing your Word that I have reached someone who needed it–whether they are lost or saved. Your love and mercy are boundless and we would be lost and hopeless without you. I pray that you would do a work in everyone to open their hearts to you and to one another, that we would grow in your wisdom and goodness and light to be a shining example for others for your glory. Thank you for inspiring me to share your gospel this week. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
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