We’ve all played that playground game. Simon says, Jump! And we all jump. And keep jumping until Simon says, Stop!
At first glance it seems as though the game is a dictatorship, one where the caller has all the power. Everyone must obey the commands given or be eliminated by attrition, one player at a time.
The caller can even trip up the players by issuing a command without prefacing it with the words, “Simon says.” To follow an incorrectly stated command is to be kicked out just as surely as if not following a command at all.
Yet, this game has a vastly different connotation in the life of the Christian. Rather than seeing it as a dictatorship, we must look at the game as one of unity, one where each member follows the rules set up by the player acting as Simon. If one player reaches to tie her shoes, and another scratches his head, the game collapses in anarchy. Only when the players work as a team does the game function as intended.
In Colossians 1:20-22, Christ is our Simon. He brings players from all walks of life together to bind them in unity. From the rough dockworker telling coarse jokes to the financial advisor debating whether she can get away with skimming funds from her accounts, Christ draws them to himself, setting a standard prefaced by the phrase, Simon says.
The game is a simple one, and easy to play. All we have to do is listen and follow along. Let’s see how it is done:
Simon says:
Peace comes through my blood shed on the cross.
The rules of the game have to be established. Jesus (Simon) tells us the rules before he begins to play. We must be together on this, for to play any other way is to collapse into anarchy. The basis for our Christian walk is to believe that we come to him through his blood, and there is no other way.
Simon says:
Through your faith, I will reconcile all things unto me.
We have to be able to trust his commands. If Jesus asks us to tie our shoelaces, we must immediately drop to our knees and begin tying our shoelaces. We must have faith in what he asks us to do, or we cannot follow him.
Simon says:
All things in heaven and in earth are under my command.
Only one person can be the caller. Jesus. In this statement, he makes it clear that the individual players cannot call the shots. If Jesus says to tie our shoes, and we choose to scratch our heads, then we have abrogated his authority, and there will be no unity within the body of Christ.
Simon says:
You were alienated, yet I chose you to become one with me.
We do not play this game through lack of choice. There are other games on the playground: lust; over-indulgence; greed; laziness; anger; jealously; pride. These are the games that come naturally to humanity. They are also the games that alienate us from the Savior. Yet, Christ says, although you are human, I want you to play my game, one of purity, self-restraint, generosity, and humility.
Simon says:
I came from heaven to become human, and I died for you.
These are Christ’s qualifications to play the part of Simon. The Christ, one-third of the Godhead, a portion of the triumvirate that created all that was, is, and is to come, chose to relinquish his seat at the right hand of the Father that he might know what it is to be truly human. Then, he allowed himself to be crucified on the cross that his death might provide atonement for our humanity.
Simon says:
I lift you as unified and without flaw before my Father in heaven.
This is our gift when we choose to abandon all the other games on the playground and play with the Christ. When we choose the game of Simon Says, we choose to play with Christ as our Simon, and we also choose unity with the almighty God in the heavens.
When Christ says, “Simon says,” he isn’t playing dictator. Rather, he is drawing us out of the world and into the purity and humility that God demands. When we choose to follow his commands, we will become like him in all things, and we will know heaven as our eternal home.
When we follow Jesus’ commands, he will brag to the Father about us.
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Code: FGO.B.04.14a.vp