As a person that loves to play many different kind of games, I've always been drawn back to collectable card games. As I searched for a game that I would really love to play and have others to play with I went down the road to playing Magic like so many of our community has. I know that we have many who still play the game and may not be convicted as I was in putting my money and my spiritual life into the game, but something just felt off to me. I was reminded of the verse in Galatians that talks about the works of the flesh and one of those things was sorcery which is what the game of Magic draws on. I was in a struggle for doing what I felt was right spiritually by not giving in to my fleshly desire to play a game that just seemed so appealing to me. I mean, what could hurt? It's only a game, right?
For me the answer was no! There is a spiritual battle here and I couldn't allow my mind to be driven by what Magic was introducing. One day my wife and I were in a heated discussion about me having the game in the house and then it hit me, she was right as always, and Holy Spirit was speaking to me as well. I decided that I was going to throw the collection that I’d just spent hundreds of dollars on away, not sell because I didn’t think others should own these cards either.
After this event I was speaking to a good friend of mine and he said, “Well if you’re not playing Magic any more but are looking for a similar game, have you tried Redemption?”. “What is Redemption?”, I asked. He then proceeded to tell me about this wonderful game that has become my most favorite game to play. This person, a lot of the community that has been around for a while will know, is Mark Underwood, a former elder of the game.
Since then, I have been telling everyone that I know about the game and have even got a small playgroup together, with the help of Stephen Brooks, that meets on a weekly bases and is the first regular meeting Redemption group in the history of the game to meet in Arkansas. We meet each week on Thursday's at Stephens house and run an average of 14 players a week. With the blessing of the Redemption elder team and after only three years of me finding the game, we are hosting the first ever National Tournament in Arkansas on the 30th official year of the game.
It has been quite a journey these last couple of years and I’m anxiously awaiting to see what’s next for this game that our Lord has blessed Rob Anderson with the creativity to design and to those who give countless hours to keep the game fresh and relevant while sowing seeds of scripture to those who play.
