Have any of you ever played a role playing video game, an RPG? When you play, you become a character in a fictitious world, achieving goals as you go along. Your player may develop new skills or abilities, and may accumulate wealth, depending on the game.
In these games are NPCs, or non-player characters, and they can be riddled throughout the game. Your character may go to them to gain information to help you on your mission or quest, or they may have products you need to buy. You, as the player, have no control over these characters, and they, by design, are not “people” you invest in. You can’t hurt them. You can’t become their buddy. And, usually, you can’t interact with them any deeper than whatever is their purpose for providing a product or useful information for the quest.
Considering these NPCs, I want you to imagine the following.
Short journey to post office
Faces on the way
In line, the postmaster
If you are like me, you may not have thought about all those faces you saw for that short journey, and you probably didn’t deliberate about the fact that the postmaster was the person to ask for the proper postage amount.
None of these people do we have influence over, nor are we aware one way or the other that any are on the road to salvation, our main mission. If this had been a video game, we might have classified all those people as NPCs, needing no further attention than whatever is their tertiary role in our life. Besides, God reveals that most people we don’t know are children of wrath.
We can read about this in Ephesians
Eph 2:3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
So, without thinking about it, we might just categorize any anonymous face as a child of wrath.
So there you have it! If not for the grace of God, there go I. I’d just be another NPC. So, WAS my trip to the post office filled with NPCs, people I don’t need to proactively love at this time?
Let’s first be reminded that though we are called in this present age, God has a plan for everyone at some point. I can’t go into those details, today, instead, relying on your knowledge of them, but here is a basic scripture to show for whom Christ died.
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1Jn 2:2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
Jesus died for all people, even for those who might be classified as children of wrath – which, before our conversion, we were also children of wrath. When we look at so-called NPCs, our minds need to go where God’s mind goes, and that is to the “fulfillment of all things”, when our Father will dwell with all of us (Rev 21:3).
I want to propose for all of us, today, to begin to take a different view of any so-called NPCs in our lives. In the sense of our spiritual journey, this would include unconverted loved ones we regularly interact with. It would include those who would hurt us, too. Let’s look at this foundational view.
1Jn 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
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1Jn 4:20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1Jn 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
Getting back to the game, these types of games also have characters that can hurt us. These are characters we strive against.
The modern-day social climate keeps inviting you and me to see some people as enemies, like in a video game. These humans they would encourage us to reject, look down on, and “overcome”, putting us in a spiritual position to love them less, or even hate them.
If life was a video game for a Christian, WHO would be the enemies and bosses, the only enemies, to overcome, if we are going to trust God’s inspired word?
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Eph 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Paul goes on to explain in detail our weapon and defenses, but none of these accoutrements does he recommend we use against our fellow man. Instead, our ongoing battle is with spiritual forces. The real enemies are in the realm that influences people.
So, if life was a video game, WHO might we classify as an NPC? Based on the game definitions, ALL FLESH AND BLOOD with whom we are NOT on the journey to salvation. They can do us ZERO spiritual harm or good.
The only true enemy is the evil one and his cohorts in crime.
Today, as I bring this to a conclusion, with these definitions, hopefully, made clear, I want to turn back to the most tertiary group, those that seem to fly by in the other lane or they simply take our money and apply the right postage.
The challenge in our world is to practice godly love, ideally, without fail, because godly love does not fail, no matter the type of person we are called upon to love.
I have a tool I use on occasion that involves an intentional investment of thought while doing the mundane, like traveling in my car to a destination.
Let’s go back to the scenario I introduced at the beginning. And, I’m asking you to try this on one of your mundane journeys this week, at least in one direction. Pick a time you are going to go somewhere, the post office, the grocery, a restaurant – during the daylight hours.
All these so-called NPCs exist for a reason, a good reason, even if they are presently children of wrath.
Even at this time in history, not a single one of them is a loser, or of no consequence, for every single one of them already exists as a unique human being, each one being a miracle. One sperm and one egg formed their unique existence, making them a winner compared to all the other sperm that could have united with that egg to make a different person. All of us exist for the same purpose, to become children of God. When that happens is not the issue for this exercise.
On this journey, as best as you can, take note of every face and interaction, and say something to yourself like, “Born for Salvation”. You will be floored, and even burdened by how many times you make that association, but do it for every one possible. I will say that whatever day you do that – and if any of these so-called NPCs cuts you off in traffic, or cuts in line – you will likely notice from yourself a better response, a more godly response, to that moment in time.
We humans are ALL in this together, even those who are currently children of wrath, because God’s plan is for all mankind, that, if possible, all could be saved (1Ti 2:4). Yes, we need to live godly lives, being obedient, to be an example to anybody we may come across, but part of that obedience is to practice an active love for others, all others, just as God loves us.
Even children of wrath are priceless to God, intended to someday be called to salvation, and our loving interaction with any and all of them, and I’m speaking of agape, godly, love, will help us, daily, embrace more clearly the mind of God and desire of God to save all of mankind.
