Game Over!

Mighty Joe

Jesus chomped on the Pharisees for their love of money (Luke 16:14). He could have done the same with athletes for their love of sports, or politicians for their love of power, or models for their love of beauty. What we are consumed with or most devoted to reveals much about us, but also about our destiny. And Jesus knew that.

 
Meditation
Luke 16:15—And He told them: “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.”
 
Later in Luke 16, Jesus shared the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. After the rich man died, he was tormented in Hades. He had lived lavishly but neglected his relationship with God. Death for him meant permanent separation from his Creator. There was nothing he could do to change his circumstances.
            
I have a friend who was a skilled tennis player with an insatiable drive to win. But he had a quick temper, treated people rudely, was unfulfilled, and by his own admission had few friends. He knew I loved Jesus, and he considered me his friend because I cared about him. For decades, I prayed that he would come to know Jesus. One day, after a pickleball tournament we played as doubles partners, he asked me a question that gave me a natural opportunity to share what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus. At the end of our conversation, Joe asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior. 
            
In the game of life, what we pursue matters. You probably know people who are consumed with amassing wealth, winning championships, or whatever they have set their minds on achieving. Imagine being an Olympic athlete and winning a gold medal. With all the fame and adulation comes the reality that this is only truly possible while young and strong, followed by the natural question: What comes next? In my experience, unless they have a relationship with the Lord, those who pursue what is fleeting are miserable. When their game is over, they are unfulfilled.
            
I am watching the Messiah transform Joe. His values and understanding of what was most important changed. He found peace. He knows that when this life reaches GAME OVER, an eternal one commences, and it will be incredible because it is designed by God for him. God made Joe, you, and me because He desires a permanent relationship with us. Incredible! Therefore, whatever possesses us that is a barrier to our walk with God should be jettisoned.
 
Inspiration
“The religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of personal relationship to God and has nothing to do with possessions. A sense of possessions is sufficient to render us spiritually dense because what we possess often possesses us.”—Oswald Chambers in The Moral Foundations of Life
 
©2026 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  To receive these devotionals, go to www.firstcause.org and click the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10—"The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.”  (Holman CSB)