Cthulhuary has officially begun here at Geek Devotions! For this first episode Dallas takes a look at a particular mechanic in the Call of Cthulhu video game that requires you to be intentional in seeking what you need. This raises the question… what do we do when we need something like hope, love, and community? What do we do when we’ve tried to seek these things in the past, but came up empty? Join us today at 4pm CST as Dallas explores these questions.
Call of Cthulhu, the video game, has a fascinating “PI” murder mystery story that evolves into a dive into the unknown. Like most RPGs, you gain experience points to apply to different skills. But there are two particular skill sets that you cannot use experience points to grow. The only way to develop these skills is to intentionally seek out books and objects that help grow those skills. Of course, you could try to ignore these skills, but you’ll find yourself far more successful if you don’t. There are many things you pick up passively in life, but there are aspects of life that you have to be intentional to grow. Things like community, love, and hope… we have to grow in these areas intentionally. But where do you go to grow in these areas?
As Christians, we believe that the fundamental way to grow in these areas is to seek God. As we seek Him, we will find these to be a natural outgrowth of our walk with Him. The scriptures tell us clearly that if we seek God, we will find Him.
And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
2 Chronicles 15:2
We seek God in various ways by reading the scriptures, prayer, and being in a Biblical community. However, many have run into the problem that while seeking God, they’ve had some terrible interactions with individuals claiming to represent Christ. That’s left them pondering, “What’s the point? Is there hope? Do I really need community?”
To that individual, I first want to say sorry for the terrible experience you’ve had. It’s not right. But there is hope, love, and yes, you need community. One issue we run into as humans is that we tend to attribute the actions of mankind to the nature of God. And that’s not the case. So seek God, and even though there are ignorant individuals in the community, you’ll still grow.
We have to make it easier for the church to find what they need. We have to be willing to be uncomfortable for a while so that others can find true hope in Jesus Christ. We have to remember that church, Christianity, the ministry is not about us as “man” but about Christ. We, either initially or un-intinially make discipleship and our ministries more about us as “leaders” rather than about Christ. You don’t have to be the cover of the book. Your face doesn’t have to be on the billboard, and you don’t have to be seen in every social media post. You don’t have to always be the one who preaches. When you do that, then those seeking Christ run the risk of seeing you more than God. And when we do that, they risk not finding what they really need to grow.