Taking Your Game to the Next Level - A Video Game Analogy

¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ²because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:1-11)

As I read this scripture this morning, I was reminded of the infamous Super Mario game, the old video game of my youth, the one all my cousins and I would huddle around at their house when there was some birthday party or something. You may find it quite curious why this verse reminded me of the Super Mario Brothers, and I'm quite obliged to share.

In particular, it was verse 9 which draws the stark comparison between the 'realm of the flesh' and 'the realm of the spirit'. Even the word 'realm' feels like must be used in some current video games out there. The way Paul describes these different realms, he makes it clear that they are separate. You go from one to the other.... just like in video games. You can't be in both levels at once. You are in either one or the other.

Depending on which level you're in, the setting may change, the rules, the difficulty level. Well, this seems quite relevant to what Paul is describing. When we accept Christ and have the Spirit of God within us, we move from one realm to the next, a clear change of setting. The rules (the laws) are different, because we are now guided by the Holy Spirit and pleasing God in ways that we couldn't when we were just flesh (v.8). And we are at a different difficulty level altogether. We are living our lives to glorify God, but we have the Holy Spirit within us to help and guide us.

But Paul says to the church 'if indeed you have the spirit of God in you'. We must know whether we have the Spirit of Christ. Call out to the Holy Spirit today and every day. We need that strength to take our game to the next level.