In an earlier blog post, I talked about warp zones, those wonderful little inventions that allow you to skip past huge portions of whatever video game you happen to be playing.
This time, we're going to talk about the reset button.
You probably don't have to be a gamer to figure this one out. The reset button is the button on your gaming machine that starts the whole game over. Forget that low score you were about to end up with in Galaga, because guess what? You can pretend it never happened. Start over fresh. From the first level.
When you're playing well, you aren't likely to thank your prankster friend who "accidently" pushes the reset button just to see your reaction. On the other hand, when you're playing poorly, a chance to start over is a breath of fresh air.
Even characters in video games sometimes get their own "reset button" within the context of the plot. Let's return once more to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for just one example. At the end of the story, Princess Zelda and the hero Link are sharing a moment of repose after their final battle with the evil Ganon. Somehow, Princess Zelda gets it into her head that it's all her fault Ganon came to power in the first place.
Ridiculous, if you ask me. If I were Link, I'd have done everything I could to convince her otherwise. But Link is a man of few words, and so Zelda insists on making it up to him for dragging him into the fight against Ganon. How does she plan to do this? By using the power of a sacred instrument, the Ocarina of Time, to return Link to the past. With Ganon no longer able to affect their lives, past or present, this will give Link the chance to live the life he should have had--or so Zelda's thinking goes.
It's a rare opportunity for Link and a sad parting for Zelda (sort of...I won't spoil it altogether for those of you who haven't played the game). How many of us get a chance to do it all over again, avoiding the trials we faced the first time around?
It's a thought provoking ending to a thought provoking game. But that never happens in real life, right?
The answer is: it depends on the player. That means you!
Those who have come to their Christian faith from a particularly rough background will heartily agree that coming to believe in Christ is like hitting a big reset button. While there may still be consequences for our actions here on earth, for all intents and purposes, "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west" (Ps 103:12). They've been erased from the game. Our mistakes no longer exist on God's memory card.
That's about as good a reset button as I can imagine. You get to keep the good and get rid of the bad, much like Link does in Ocarina of Time. With Ganon gone, he's free to live the life he was meant to live, this time without the evil force that was holding him back.
Heckler: "Hey. That gives me an idea."
DON'T YOU DARE PUSH THAT BUTTON, HECKLER!
**********POWER ON. WELCOME TO VIRTUOUS WORLDS BLOG**********
In an earlier blog post, I talked about warp zones...
Just kidding. Happy New Year, everyone. Time to hit those reset buttons!
P.S. My publisher and I are getting close to settling on a final cover design for Virtuous Worlds. I'll try to post pictures here as soon as it happens. The release date of the book should be in late March or early April.
