One of the defining features of any Sonic game is the act of collecting rings as we race through the level… but no matter how many rings I pick up, all it takes is one misstep for me to lose them all. Whether I have one ring or one hundred, all of the rings I’ve been collecting explode across the level as soon as I step on a spike or mistime a jump. This isn’t to say that the rings have no value, but my hold on them isn’t permanent. I don’t truly “possess” them, because they can be lost as quickly as they are picked up… despite all my hard work acquiring them, all these rings are one mistake away from being rendered useless.

As followers of Christ, we are called to do good works on His behalf, but that is not the purpose of our faith… it’s simply the natural byproduct of a life lived with Him dwelling in us. All of our best attempts at righteousness in the absence of an actual relationship with the Lord has the same value as a pile of filthy rags in His eyes, because all it takes is one sinful thought or action to cost us all of those “rings” we collected. There isn’t any amount of “good deeds” we can perform that will grant us right standing with God, but He didn’t ask us to earn our access to Him. He freely offers His righteousness to all who will love Him, seek Him, and follow Him with all their heart… and if we do that, the “rings” will follow.

But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:28-33

• Like us?  Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, TikTok, or YouTube for our articles, podcasts, and videos!
• Facebook: Finding God in Video Games
• Twitter: @FindingGodIn_VG
• Instagram: Finding God in Video Games
• Podcasts on Spotify/Apple/Google: Finding God in Video Games
• TikTok: @FindingGodInVideoGames
• YouTube: Finding God in Video games