Majora's Mask and Forgiveness



When Majora's Mask was released it had a lot of hype to live up to. Ocarina of Time showed people how awesome 3D gaming could be, and people wanted more. What they got was a game that broke free from the typical Zelda formula, and polarized their fans.

One of the "Zelda-isms" That Majora's Mask separated itself from was the bad guy. Normally, the

Skull Kid transformed Link from a capable
person, to a helpless Deku Shrub
http://gamefob.com/super-smash-sunday-majoras-mask-link/

bad guy is Ganon, or some minion who is controlled by Ganon. Instead the bad guy is Skull Kid wearing Majora's Mask. Right from the get go, Skull Kid proves his antagonistic qualities. He steals Link's Ocarina and transforms him into a Deku Shrub. He attacks, severely cripples you, and then abandons Link in a strange new world forcing him to face his new weaknesses alone. Yet as the game progresses, you learn that Skull Kid really is not to blame. Majora's Mask is what has made Skull Kid so evil. To really make a difference and save the world, you don't have to destroy skull kid, but the Mask itself.

In life, we are severely hurt by people around us.  Some people deal with complicated divorce that causes problems in lives that no kid should have to face. Some were abandoned by their parents and lack the loving family that most have. Some have been abused or mistreated by people close to them and will suffer the effects of that mistreatment for the rest of their lives. People in our lives cause all of us issues and we are left with weaknesses because of them. It is so easy for us to hate the people that cause us this pain. So easy to live our entire lives bitter and angry at them without forgiveness even when they ask for it. We feel like were hurt and crippled and they don't deserve our forgiveness.

But they are not the real bad guy. They are not the true evil at work here. They are just the Skull Kid.

The real source of all our pain, and all our problems is Satan. He caused the fall of man which brought sin into this world, giving us all a sinful nature from birth. "Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned-" Romans 5:12. These people who hurt us so greatly are not the true evil in our lives. They are simply pawns of a greater evil in our sinful nature. We need to realize that, and we need to take a huge step of faith and forgive. "bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity" Colossians 3:13-14.

Forgiveness is hard, especially when so much damage has been done. But they are only a lost soul as you once were. Let God use you to bring Him into their lives. At the very least, don't let your bitterness towards them hold you back from being the Servant of God you are called to be.

Application:

Who is in your life that needs forgiveness?

Have you forgiven them?
     If not, pray that God would give you the strength to.
Do you pray for them? That God would take care of them?
     If not do, and God will bless you for it.


Going Further:
Is there any wrong that is unforgivable?

Often Times, God can use or weaknesses, or things we struggled with in the past to help us minister to others in similar situations. Was there a time when God used an old pain in your life to help others get through theirs?

Comment with your thoughts.

BioShock and The Gospel

*MAJOR SPOILERS are used to prove a point. Be warned.*

BioShock is a mind blowing game. From the second you go into the lighthouse to take you down into Rapture, to the end credits, you are in awe of the game. Rapture is such an interesting and engaging setting that you cannot help being drawn in.

Then comes the famous plot twist. One realization changes how you view the whole game. Everything you had done was pointless. Your cause was not just, your goal was not real, and your true motivations were not what you thought they were. You were a slave to a greater evil than the one you were facing, and you did not even know it. Only after you have discovered the truth and have been set free from slavery, can you finally face the true evil at work in Rapture.

Sadly, our lives before finding Christ are the same. Like the main character in BioShock before the memorable confrontation with Andrew Ryan, we live our entire lives as slaves to sin. We may have tried to do good, but we were all selfish at heart. "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" Romans 3:10-12. That was because, like in BioShock, there is a plot twist that we had not yet reached. We had not learned the truth. "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin" John 8:34. Nobody can live a perfect life. We all sin, and we all screw up. Therefore we are slaves to sin, and like in Bioshock, many don't even realize it. Because sin is our master, we have earned death, "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a. The life changing truth is, that we are hopeless, and doomed. Enslaved to an evil master.

But there is more to this truth. The verse continues "...but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 6:23b. We are offered freedom. Though our debt is great the price has been paid. "If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world" 1 John 2:1-2. Jesus came to earth, and paid the debt for our sins. All we must do is accept his free gift and we are free from our captor. Free to fight against him who enslaved us, and like in BioShock, our former master will be defeated.

Application:

Have you ever thought about how amazing a gift God has given us? That, even though we deserve death, God became a man and died so that we could live. Think about that for a while before moving on.

 Jesus died to be "the propitiation for our sins...but also for the whole world." What steps are you taking to help your friends accept this free gift?

 Are you praying for them?

 Are you living a godly life around them?

 What else can you be doing?

Jesus' last words were a command, telling us to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28:19.

Are we making disciples as we were commanded?

Going Further:

Comment with some ideas on sharing this truth with others, or with people in your life that we can be praying for God to reveal this truth to. Video Link: http://youtu.be/14pQ5B0iTUs