Life as a Video Game

It seems like there are waves of time in our lives where the struggle of life and death become more and more real. In the past several weeks, we have had numerous friends lose loved ones. Some of these were longstanding illnesses and in some cases they were abrupt and unexpected. Each has its own challenges. How do you go through life on this earth where the struggle of death permeates so? 

Last week I was listening to a podcast by Radiolab called "The Cathedral" and I was profoundly moved by listening to this. It is about a family who struggles through the terminal illness of their child. The father is moved to create a video game called "That Dragon Cancer" that lets the player personally experience the challenges of this type of situation. But it is beyond that - it is how you experience the joys and sorrows of life and death. You can listen to the podcast below - it runs about 32 minutes but worth your listening.
 

I just finished reading the book "Happiness" by Randy Alcorn. The Bible has much to say about the sheer joy we experience by knowing the Lord God personally. Life in the kingdom is going to be one massive party. We can experience that in part now. But then life is punctuated by the sting of death (1 Cor. 15:56). That is an accurate depiction of life in this world during the fall. It is the preview of the kingdom, but the reality of the fall. This video game seems to do a really nice job of capturing that conundrum.