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JENGA
Greetings to all! I bring forth good tidings to you and all your kin. I’ve always wanted to start a column off like that. Why? I don’t know. It sounds important or like Christmas or something. Well, our website is still in the process of an overhaul. I’d try and explain the problem, but I’m not the most computer literate. I just write. Gabe does all the technical stuff. So, just hold on tight for the next week or two and we’ll have this baby up and running again.
Have you ever played that game “Jenga”? You know, the game with the blocks you stack high and then each person takes a turn pulling out one at a time trying not to knock down the tower. It’s a mighty fun game. I like being the one to knock it down, so I don’t ever win, and plus everyone gets mad at me. You gotta be pretty good (or bad) to destroy that thing on your first turn (jk).
I always wondered what the word Jenga meant, so I did a little research. The name Jenga was derived from a Swahili word meaning “to build”. Simple enough, right. It all makes sense now.
I always like to relate everyday things to our Christian walks because I believe that even the simplest thing, such as a silly game, can teach us about us as people.
As Christians we are called to Jenga, or “to build”. All throughout the Bible there are references to building. I always love reading the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, how they rebuilt the temple and the walls in Jerusalem. I believe it is a story that relates to our lives here today. We are called to build up that temple in our own lives.
1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
As Christians we have certain things we need to do to build up that strong Christian walk. Prayer, Reading the Word, Fellowship, Worship, Fasting are all vital keys to living that life that Jesus walked. We are to be Christ-like, so we must do as Jesus did. We are to build our faith on the Him, the Strong Tower, the Rock of our Salvation.
All throughout Jesus’ ministry He talked about building. In Matthew 7:24-27, He talks about the wise man building his house on the rock, so when the floods come and the winds blow, the house will not fall. The foolish man builds his house on the sand. In Luke 6:46-49, He talks about digging our foundation deep and laying it on the rock.
Like that Jenga tower, when we start pulling out blocks of our Christian walk, our tower gets a little shaky. You can go a day or two without prayer, but when that day turns to weeks and those weeks turn to months, you’re playing with disaster. Sooner or later it’s all going to come crashing down.
I wrote a song a few years ago called “crashing down”. It goes:
“crashing down
when it all came crashing down, no one was around to ease my pain
when it all fell apart, the void inside my heart was still the same
i had to stop, look back at all my loss
although i didn’t deserve it, You gave me another shot
so i’m moving on, just trying to stay strong
trying to carry on, though this journey seems long
no one said it be easy, but i didn’t think it this hard
no one said it be simple, i didn’t pay it no regards
i thought i knew it all, i was only bound to fall
many were my plans, but i was rejecting my call
so i went my own way, found out the hard way
that this life that we live is more than just a game
it’s more than win or lose, more than laws and rules
you either fight or lie down, it’s your choice to choose
hang in or fall out, when it all comes down to it
everything you gained, without a soul, you gonna lose it
you can build your own towers, put faith in their power
but they all come crashing down in that final hour
when it all came crashing down, no one was around to ease my pain
when it all fell apart, the void inside my heart was still the same
i’ve been looking for answers in this world full of questions
trying to find truth in the midst of deception
living this life full of pain and rejection
trying to do right, but the mark i keep missin
i’m slippin’ into things i have no business in
sleepin’ with the pigs in this pen i fell in
hurtin’ deep within, but my pride holds me down
i wanna get out, but i can’t humble myself
i ran away, didn’t listen to what You had to say
You told me to pray, but i had to have it my way
so i strayed, off the narrow path
i wanna be free, but i only feel trapped
i built my castles on the sand, thinking that they would stand
but the wind blew them away, the plans of this man
drifted out to sea, i should have built them on the Rock
cuz they all fall down when that final clock stops
when it all came crashing down, no one was around to ease my pain
when it all fell apart, the void inside my heart was still the same
many are the plans of man, but in the end only God’s word will stand
for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and still lose his soul
for when it all comes crashing down, those riches aren’t gonna be around to ease your pain
when it all falls apart, that void inside your heart will still remain”
We are to build our lives on that Rock that will never crumble. That is Jesus, the One and only Way. No matter where you are, or what you’re going through, God is always right there willing to give you another chance. You might not have put your trust in Him before. You might have built your house on the sand. You might have failed Him over and over again, but He wants you to start over. Start today. Build on Him, the only SURE FOUNDATION.
1 Corinthians 3:9-17 says “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 says, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
Let us continue to be that temple He has called us to be. And next time you play Jenga, take it as a reminder of how we are supposed to walk a Godly life. And remember to keep your blocks stacked tight, that way when someone like geno tries to take one out, your tower won’t come crashing down.
w/muchluv,
geno
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