The Gamers’ Committment Challenged My Own

Today I was cruising back from a lunch meeting with a friend at Teriyaki Grill (75th & Pacific if you’re in Omaha^the grilled salmon is all that..)…anyway, I was coming back from lunch and it was cold and my truck was not pushing the heat like I would have liked it so I stopped at the Target by the church to grab a coffee from Starbucks.

On my way in I saw this congregation of about 12-15 guys hanging out in their lawn chairs all bundled up. I couldn’t figure out if they were homeless or tailgating, neither made sense in front of a Target. So I went inside and asked the coffee lady, she laughed and said they were all waiting in line for the Play Station 3 that comes out tomorrow am. She said that many of them slept outside last night waiting in line. Myself not being a ‘gamer’ I don’t get this at all. I asked her how many systems there were and why they were waiting. She told me that they only have 4 and that you could only buy 1 at a time.

So as I marveled at their commitment to games I was challenged with my own commitment to my highest treasure. Specifically, what would my treasure prove to be here? I resolved to go out there and evangelize them.

As I got outside I was reminded that it is stinkin’ cold out there. Granted it is only like 34 degrees, but when you are in Omaha and there are all of 9 trees in the whole city, you feel the wind. So I began some small talk with the guys, and as I did some guy sold his spot. That’s right, he sold his spot in line. I believe he was like number 5 (still out of luck according to the Starbucks lady inside) but he sold the spot for $300!! Unbelievable.

So after some small talk I was able to share the gospel with a couple of the guys. It was a good time to remember why I am here on this planet. I am here not for personal amusement but for divine pleasure. I gave the guys some of my tracts and dialogged about the gospel. It was a good (cold!) time.

I am thankful to God for the way in which he brings things like this to my doorstep to challenge me ‘as I am going’ to endeavor to make disciples. Additionally he used these guys’ commitment to this game system to convict me of my own commitment to my living Savior. What types of comforts would I give up, critiques would I endure, and faithfulness would I demonstrate for that which I supremely value? This was good to deal with in pursuit of conformity to the image of Christ.

Possibly Related posts:

1. I’ll take a Venti Americano and…some of your time for the gospel!!
2. Challenged to Boast like a Christian
3. The Way God Grew it…
4. Inside Out Living- A sermon on the Gospel by Tim Keller
5. The Way I see it…Ricky is tricky.