Some of my most powerful memories from my childhood gaming years are not moments of victory where I triumphed mightily over a difficult game, but are instead my moments of tremendous loss where I failed to defeat a particular boss or get through a challenging level. Especially in the olden days of video games, failure would culminate in the dreaded Game Over, that moment when the game makes it clear to you that you have failed and failed completely. Game Over screens have taken on a somewhat nostalgic status these days. You can go on just about any gaming website or social media page and find people talking about what Game Over screens stand out in their minds the most.
Some Game Overs are simple. The original Super Mario Bros. got straight to the point.
Some were a bit more elaborate, going out of their way to drive home your failure. Donkey Kong Country 2 shows Diddy and Trixie Kong both literally in prison should you fail in your adventure with them.
Some of them went out of their way to punish you for failing by terrifying you. Case in point, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was my first experience ever with a jumpscare. The moment you lost your last life this immediately flashed on the screen accompanied by Ganon’s 8-bit laughter bursting through your speakers.
Then some Game Overs weren’t content to just tell you that you failed. They had to rub it in. I don’t even know what game this is from but, wow, it really wants you to know just how badly you messed up!
Whatever form they took, Game Over screens like these have earned a place in gaming history for a reason. A well-designed Game Over does more than just tell you that you lost. It also serves to spur you on to try again. After all, game designers don’t want you to just give up the first time you lose. Where would be the fun in that? Instead, they want you to feel motivated to pick yourself up and try again. The idea is for you to keep trying, getting better and better each time, until you become skilled enough at the game (or reach a high enough level) that you are finally able to succeed.
I think the parallel here between games and our spiritual life pretty much speaks for itself. Failure is sometimes one of the hardest things that we have to deal with. No one likes to fail. In fact, some people go above and beyond to either make sure they don’t fail or that their failures go unnoticed. When it comes to our relationship with God, failure can sting especially bad. When we make mistakes, whether intentional or accidental, we may be tempted to feel like God is sitting on his throne with a lightning bolt in his hand just waiting to smite us for messing up yet again. We may even be tempted to feel like there’s no point in trying becuase we just keep failing over and over.
Yet, the message that God sends us in the Bible does that support that idea. In 1 John 1:9 we are told “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Not only that, but Romans 5:8 tells us “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus came to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins while we were already sinners. This means God was already well aware of our failures and mistakes, yet he still chose to send Jesus into the world for our sakes. Jesus knew as well what we as humans are like, but he still chose to go to the cross and die for us.
Remember that if you ever feel tempted to give up and stop trying to follow Jesus. He is well aware of your weaknesses and your mistakes. He knows them better than you do. Despite that though, he still loves you with that perfect love that only God can give and his goal for you is to build you up to be stronger and stronger so that one day you will succeed where you once failed, and the mistakes and failures of the past will remain in the past forever.
