Avoiding Creepers

Galatians 3:4 -- "Did you suffer so many things in vain-if indeed it was in vain?"

I had just completed the most intricate, the most glorious, the most fully stocked and adventure-ready house I had ever built using nothing but pixilated squares and computer generated textures in the game of Minecraft. Diamond armor donned and enchanted pick-axe in my very square hand, I headed out the door to discover treasures in deep carved out cube-shaped rifts. The door had barely "clicked" shut behind me when I heard it. That awful sssssssss sound that is ALWAYS followed by a huge "BOOM"! I tried to run away from my newly finished house, I tried to lure the bright green Creeper away from all of my hard work - but it was no use. He exploded behind me, taking out most of my front entryway with him. 

Grrrrr. All of that labor, the perfect use of square space, the unique decor, and innovative use of water blocks ..... down the tube in a mere fraction of a second. Again, I say Grrrrr. 

Lucky for me, I can load back to my last save point and my house will be just as I completed it - minus the huge hole in it caused by those nasty, sneaky Creepers. I could generate a second chance for my square Minecraft character. All was not for naught!

If only our lives could be reset so easily. If only WE knew how to use our lives - our experiences, our grief and victories - in a way that made the going through of them worth while. Paul was worried about this as he addressed the church in Galatia. He could see some behaviors pop up that made him angry enough to write to them at great length.


Ever make the same mistake twice? Ever wish we could reset to the last save point?

I know of a woman who is about to go through her third divorce. I ache for her and feel angry for her all at the same time. She DOES know Jesus. She IS in church. And while she can probably pick out several Bible verses regarding faith and healing - she finds herself riding the same emotional roller coaster that she's managed to ride two times already. The question popped into my head ... "did you suffer so many things in vain?" Was all of your pain and anger and frustration acquired by the experience of two previous divorces NOT worth anything at all? 

How easily we forget. 

When we make mistakes, God is amazing for us - He comes through and finds a way to grow our faith and heal us in spite of ourselves.  Every single time. No matter how many times we make the exact same mistake. However - He also wants us to learn from the things we've experienced. He wants us to use the mountains that we've climbed in our lives to encourage others through the climbing of their own. If we don't do that - we've gone through all the effort, the pain, the grief and healing for nothing. 

Back in my Minecraft universe, I knew that if I walked out the front door again, I would most likely bump into that same explosive Creeper -- so I used the back door instead and avoided him. My character discovered a huge rift with iron, gold AND the ever illusive diamond! My previous explosive experience had not been in vain.  I learned to take a different rout. 

Let's not be quiet. Let's not sit back and watch others endure the spiritual and emotional train wreck that might be waiting for them just around the corner ..... we need to reach out. Encourage. Share. Fellowship. And should we be granted the opportunity - let us open up a little bit and give from our own pain that a fellow brother or sister in Christ might not have to endure it for themselves.