Change of Costume
How God is Like the Kingdom Hearts Video Game
In 2002 there was a game released that bridged the gap between a serious storyline that engaged adults and the fun, lighthearted characters that kids knew and loved.
The creators of the Final Fantasy series, Square Enix, created a game that combined the best of their RPG gaming with some of the most beloved characters of all time. Characters that could compete in popularity with Mario or Sonic. The answer? A mouse. Not just any mouse, but the mouse.
Mickey Mouse and his fun-loving gang crossed over into RPG gaming in the now hit video game series, Kingdom Hearts.
The story is about a 14-year-old boy named Sora who was separated from his friends and his land consumed by darkness. Along with Sora’s friends disappearing, Mickey Mouse, the King of Disney Castle, has also gone missing.
Sora must use his newly gained Keyblade, a sword that looks like a key, to fight the bad guys. The bad guys are called Heartless and are a part of the darkness.
As Sora seeks to eliminate the darkness, he must travel to different worlds on his quest. The game bases each of them on famous Disney movies. To fit in, Sora and his counterparts, Donald and Goofy, must change their appearance to match the world they find themselves in.
Atlantica is based on the Little Mermaid. There Sora must dress as a Merman. In the Pirates of the Caribbean World Sora dresses like a pirate. When he visits the Pride Lands from the Lion King, he changes into a lion. When he visits Monsters Inc., he becomes a, well, you probably get the idea.
Sora becomes what he needs to be to accomplish the mission in the geographic region he finds himself. Sora must give up who he normally is to become who he needs to be in order to save his friends that are lost.
God calls us to do the same. In 1st Corinthians Paul explains how he uses his freedom to save those he encounters,
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.- 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV) (Emphasis Added)
Paul would change his approach to reach the lost. Paul was a Jew and knew their culture well, but when he lived and talked with non-Jews, known as Gentiles, Paul matched and lived within their customs and culture.
Sometimes when we are trying to reach the lost, we must forget who we are so that we might save some.
This seems counter-intuitive, especially in our culture. We celebrate you being “you,” being true to yourself, believing in yourself, and we are encouraged to find ourselves.
God though has a different viewpoint.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.- Matthew 16:24-25 (NLT)
If there is someone God has brought into your life that you need to reach, forget who you are and become who Jesus is calling you to be to reach that person. You may love to eat a good juicy burger, but when you visit a friend who is vegan, you may need to grab a handful of nuts and tell them about Jesus.
Just like the creators of Kingdom Hearts made Sora change his costumes to match the world he found himself in, so too did God give us the ability and permission to lose ourselves in order to reach our friends and others that are lost.
This Christian Observational comes from my book God is like a Video Game. You can find it on Amazon if you’d love to read all 30 of the video game themed observationals.
