Writer
In Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK), Link is once again thrown into another heroic adventure. This time, however, he is doing so with a new arm given to him by the ancient warrior, Rauru. This arm has a series of abilities the player needs to unlock while clearing various shrines. Clearing these shrines also allows you to gain a blessing from the light. This blessing cleanses the arm of evil, enabling you to gain more health in-game.
As a Christian Geek, I can’t help but see this whole thing in a different way. Christians believe that in a spiritual sense, God has removed a heart of stone from us and given us a new heart when we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins. (Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26) While spiritually, we are made new, and the work of the cross is complete in an individual, there are thought processes and habits that many of us must overcome. For many, this is a process that comes about via various trials (James 1:2-7) in which we must learn to rely on the Lord and trust in the teachings He’s given us through the scriptures.
Growing spiritually can be a difficult process at times, but it’s necessary for an individual to be a healthy Christian. In TotK, Link must go through these trials if he truly wants to complete the mission in front of him. Sure, he could go on without certain skills and without being in full health, but what he’d find is that he’d struggle more in the end than if he would simply trust the process of ridding his new arm of the evil that holds him back. Likewise, we could go through life with “our simple little faith,” as some have called it, and we may be doing ok, but if we truly want to be successful in our walk with God, we have to be willing to walk through those challenges that help us to be transformed, via the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2)