If you have
been around at all in the last twenty six odd years you probably know who these
two are.
If not, well
I’ll explain in due course. These two are two icons of the gaming world, Link,
the Hero of the Legend of Zelda series, and Mario, the hero of the Mushroom
Kingdom.
Now I
understand that this is a rather brisk departure from my normal venue of
writing, but I feel that what these two can teach us is profound if looked at
through the Scripture’s lens. Yes, I am going to be drawing out Biblical truth
from video games, so get your torches and pitchforks ready…
If you are
still reading it means either you are waiting for me to fall, or that you are
interested in what I have to say, either way I will speak the truth in love
insofar as the Holy Spirit gives me credence and power, to God be the glory.
Now both of
these characters have been on the scene for almost thirty years, and their
respective series’ are still going strong today. I happen to be quite a fan of
both of these game legacies.
Now let me
explain, yes I play video games, why? Briefly: because they are one of the most
interactive and interesting ways to tell a story, don’t get me wrong, I love a
good book, but games allow you to control parts of a narrative, to really be a
part of it.
I understand
though that many distrust video games, they, like any media outlet have from
their inception been riled and rife with sin (because the human heart is by
nature sinful: Jeremiah 17:9), but all in all these two series’ have been
largely unstained, and are reckoned as children’s games because of it.
But the
truth I want to share (and for many reiterate) is one of profound and deep
spiritual nature and should be taken seriously insofar (I love that word) as I
use true Scripture to back it up, which I fully intend to do.
This truth
is one very clearly defined in the Bible, and it is essential to our
understanding of God and how He relates to us, especially because of our sin,
and His plan for Redemption.
Both of
these characters personify this truth very well in my estimation, and I have
been a player of these games for quite a while now. This essential truth is the
truth of Unconditional Love.
I’ll say it
again, both Link and Mario in their respective universes as I see it personify
unconditional love.
How can I say
this? Well both characters and their games follow the same essential patterns
for story, and plot. Both are stories of heroes who must rescue a princess in
distress and save the kingdom. A very traditional and simple structure and one
I am personally very fond of.
So where
does unconditional love come in? Well let me show you where I am coming from in
terms of Scripture first, and then I will make my case.
1
Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient and
kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not
insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.”
Love in a
Christian sense is born from the love that God shows us. Because of these two
truths:
1.
1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love
one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and
knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
God is love, it is part of His essence, His being, His
perfection.
2.
The other half, how we know love: 1 John 4:9-10 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his
only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love,
not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.”
The only reason we know anything of love is because God
initiated it, shared with us at out creation by His hands, and commanded it in
His law. He also shows it perfectly, and most pertinently to this discussion,
unconditionally.
One must simply look once at the Gospel to understand that
God’s love is unconditional.
Ephesians 2:1-5 “And
you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following
the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once
lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and
the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by
grace you have been saved—“
Even though we were enemies of God, He loved us, and now,
through Christ, He loves us all the more.
So where does 1 Corinthians 13 come in? Well that passage is
speaking to believers in the church, teaching us from God’s love how to love
one another (the second greatest commandment underneath loving God).
So how do video game characters personify this weighty
Biblical truth? Well first I will admit, imperfectly, for only God is perfect.
Even still I believe these characters are able to open younger minds to this
truth, which in this world is vitally important, and becoming more so by the
day.
Now to business, I have laid my foundation, now to build my
house.
1. Love is patient.
In both games these two heroes have to put up with a lot, and
yet neither is ever phased or frustrated. Dealing with annoying companions,
everyday complaints, various sufferings, puzzles, and even mortal peril to
protect the people they love most, and you never hear a word of complaint or
selfish thought.
2. Love is kind
Both Link and Mario are always willing to take the time to
help those in need, and it is never a
burden. No task is too small, no problem too obtrusive, and they will both give
their help with a smile on their faces, and again, not a single complaint or
self-seeking nonsense.
3. Love does not envy or boast
The simplicity of these characters is beautiful, for neither
ever wants more than he has. Both live simple lives in their respective games,
with simple pleasures, and yet they never want more. And all of the heroic
deeds they must accomplish to save the day, they never do it for praise or
personal gain or glory, only to see their loved ones safe and sound.
4. Love is not arrogant
This one sort of goes with the last point: Arrogance is pride
taking root, but neither Mario, nor Link ever seek to glory in their own feats,
for all of them are a means to the end of loving others, all of their strengths
and abilities are used for selfless acts towards those around them.
5. Love is not rude
This one explains itself, in a world where movies, and games
are filled with crude and sinful speech, both Mario and Link are silent
protagonists, not given to coarse speech or brash words.
6. Love does not insist on its own way
Although both Mario and Link are more often than not thrown
into situations that no one would ever want to be in, both take it in stride, seeing
every obstacle as one to be overcome for the sake of those they love, and while
they could complain at being dealt a bad hand by life, or by other people,
never will you hear them speak out against it. Whatever happens is, to them, a
chance to prove that their love is both active, and unconditional.
7. Love is not irritable or resentful
I’ll reiterate, no matter what happens to them, both Link and
Mario don’t care about themselves, they care for others, and are never annoyed.
8. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing
but rejoices in the truth.
I use Link more for this point. He is famously the wielder of
the Master Sword, also known as the Blade of Evil’s Bane. Real love cannot bear
evil, because to love God is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13), in the same way, to
love each other is to resist not only the evil all around us, but in each other
as well. However kindness is a part of love, and can never be sacrificed for a
hard-handed approach.
9. Love bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things
This final point is important, and I want to stress why. For
no matter if it is hardships, trials, sufferings, perils, or even death that
the heroes Mario and Link must face to save the princess and the kingdom, they
never look for repayment, or compensation. They never want anything beyond to
see the people they love safe, and protected. They ask nothing in return for
their heroic deeds because they aren’t thinking of themselves when they do
them, they are thinking of others.
This is the definition of love given to me by a dear friend
and mentor:
“Love is giving
whatever I have, that you need because God wants me to.” – Daniel Kirk
God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, freely, and willingly killed Him* to save us, to love us, even though we did not deserve it. And now He commands us to love Him, and to love each other.
In a world where the meaning of love has been twisted and perverted, the purity of the unconditional love shown in the Legend of Zelda and Mario video games is a bright spark in a media world filled with sin and perversion.
I think both Link and Mario can teach us how to do this, and
though we don’t have a princess or a world to save, we do have a God-given
mandate to love one another, and how must we do this? Unconditionally, just as
God loves us, we are to love each other.
I pray that this truth reaches you.
Unconditionally loved
--The Scribe
*Isaiah 53
