The Last Move

In John Ortberg's book "When the game is over everything goes back in the book" He finishes the book by saying the King still has one more move. In some respects I don't like the analogy of life as a game. I often weary with the game playing in relationships and the strategic moves of upper and lower hands. There are the mental and emotional games of denial and self adulation that distort reality...but mostly games are about winning and losing and I don't like the zero sum analogy to life. I like Ortberg enough and read his stuff, in spite of the increasingly diluted content, it's hard to maintain and sustain depth...Life is not a Zero Sum game of win/lose...The pursuit of Christlikeness is only possible through putting to death the 'deed/desires of the flesh'...somewhere along the way we have lost the understanding that to grow in Christlikeness means to continue to grow in the ability to replace the strong habits of flesh with the practices of righteousness and this cannot happen through effort but through 'training in righteousness' aided by the grace of the Spirit. It's not enough to roll the dice and make the most of your turn...we have lost the vision of being like Jesus and settled for carrying out his mission. You cannot accomplish Mission if you lose Vision. For a season I lost vision... I know how dangerous it can be to take your eyes off of becoming like Christ...merely carrying out the activities of ministry. I watch as so many lose their sense of calling and become mere cogs in a religious wheel...feeling 'good' about their life but having lost the vision of becoming like him. I do believe that the King does get the final move but it is no game it is the ultimate counter offensive, the reaping of the harvest of all who pursue him...and life is in the living...the moments of grasping and pursuing the vision...everything else is the maintaining of righteousness.