Playing Unplugged

I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. – John 15:5 HCSB

My five year old boy liked to pretend to play video games. At least we thought he was pretending. He would sit there with a controller in hand, pushing buttons as fast and as furiously as his sibling who was actually playing. He would duck and dodge his head as obstacles approached on the TV screen. He would throw his hands in the air in victory as they passed a level. He would express outrage when the game would throw something unexpected at them. But the problem was…he was unplugged! His sibs would routinely unplug his controller and hand it to him so that he could “play along” with them. We started gradually realizing that he really thought he was playing. When we pointed out to him that his controller was actually unplugged, he became aggravated with us, insisting that he was actually playing. Now we don’t mind pretend games, but we do insist that our children have a firm grasp on reality! It took a while to convince him that playing unplugged was useless. However, once he started playing for real, his skills gradually improved and he could truly participate with everyone else.

Too many people are playing Christianity unplugged. They make all the right moves, are emotionally involved with their religion, think about it and toss about the correct religious jargon. They go to the right places, say the right things, and may even get so good at it that they fool everyone around them (or worse – themselves) into thinking that they have the real deal. But all the while they are unplugged from the source of power; from the source of control. There are no actual results within their souls. If you speak to them about their need to get plugged into Christ, they become irate and outraged, pointing out all their good works as evidence of true participation in the game of life.

Listen, going to the right places (like church), doing the right things (like reading your Bible and praying), saying the right things (like encouraging others to good works) are all very important. But it is totally useless unless you are plugged in to a real relationship with Jesus Christ. Then and only then will your prayers be meaningful. Then and only then will you begin to naturally produce the spiritual results you seek.

So how do we plug in? Let me give you the same answer that was given to a jailer who once asked the very same question: Believe in Jesus Christ (that He is the only one who can save you from your sins) and you will be saved. That’s it. It’s not by any good works that you could ever do, but by the simple faith that a child can generate in the fact that you are a sinner and can do nothing to get to heaven and that Jesus the Messiah is the only one who can. That act of submission plugs you into more spiritual juice that you could ever hope for. And then the games REALLY begin.

Settle your soul (your mind, will and emotions) and your spirit (that part of you that communicates with God) down. Ask God to show you if you are truly plugged in or not. Then spend some time simply being quiet.