Super Mario Power

A recent minor surgery got me thinking about mortality... mine. It seems that as I age certain things don't work as well as they have in the past. I used to scoff at the doctors' recommended rest periods after various procedures. If they said two weeks, I bounced up in two days without dire effect.  This time I was still limping around after a week, thinking that maybe two weeks of reduced activity was going to be about right.

Last summer I did more heavy physical work than I have done in many years. I picked up huge chunks of tree trunk to throw into the truck or onto the splitter. I also fell in an Ax Men type accident and hurt my hand and elbow which still remind me occasionally, many months later, of the incident. When I mentioned these issues to my doctor this fall, he pointed out that just because I am able to lift heavy things and sustain injuries at my age does not mean I should do so. In other words, age has its consequences.

As I watched my grandson play Super Mario Brothers at my house this Thanksgiving, I saw a life-lesson. It seems that Mario can gain power by bouncing into various icons that float into the scene. Grabbing these icons will strengthen and lengthen little Mario’s life. Lesson: there are things that appear in life (sometimes serendipitously) which we do well to grab onto. I am thinking that one of these I should note is acting a little more my age. Then there are the obvious ones like eating healthy and getting appropriate rest and exercise. I am not personally ready for the food supplements and fad diets my Facebook friends are constantly recommending, but they do fall into the same category.

The same power pills exist in the spiritual life of a believer. Too many Christians, I fear, walk around like tiny Mario subject to defeatism at the slightest whiff of trouble. The Super Mario strength is available to every believer who just “bumps” the power. The most obvious analogy here is the Scripture. Even though just about every Christian knows reading God’s Word is a required part of a balanced “diet,” few actually make any real effort to feed regularly on their own. When Jesus told His disciples to “remain in Him,” He surely meant to read the Word on a regular basis, if nothing else.

A quote on my Facebook page from Leonard Ravenhill really struck me this morning; it read, “The only reason we don’t have revival is because we are willing to live without it.” Likewise, the only reason we go about our daily lives as if we are defeated is because we are satisfied with powerless living. I was reminded by Troy Champ at the Capital Church Christmas eve service that Emmanuel means God is with us no matter what the circumstance. The angel told Mary she could handle what was to come because God would be with her. That is a power pill like no other, and it is always hanging within reach. Just a little jump, Mario…