Before 6th century AD, one of the most popular games was invented and since then it has been played all around the world both as a hobby and competitively. This game is called Chess.
Chess is a board game for two players.It is played in a square board, made of 64 smaller squares, with eight squares on each side. Each player starts with sixteen pieces: eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king. The goal of the game is for each player to try and checkmate the king of the opponent. Checkmate is a threat (‘check’) to the opposing king which no move can stop. It ends the game.
During the game the two opponents take turns to move one of their pieces to a different square of the board. One player (‘White’) has pieces of a light color; the other player (‘Black’) has pieces of a dark color. There are rules about how pieces move, and about taking the opponent’s pieces off the board. The player with white pieces always makes the first move.Because of this, White has a small advantage, and wins more often than Black in tournament games.
Chess is popular and is often played in competitions called chess tournaments. It is enjoyed in many countries, and is a national hobby in Russia.
With the objective of the game correctly stated, it is the aim of each player to protect their king and try to capture the king of the opponent. Though having few moves, the king is the most valuable piece on the board as it’s elimination automatically results in the end of the game.
Though a game, chess illustrates one of life’s truths: we use any means possible to protect that which is most valuable to us. We protect our loved ones from physical harm or danger, we insure our property in case of any unforeseen calamity… All this is done because we value what we have and try everything humanly possible not to loose them. Scripture in the book of John tells us something different on the other hand; it shows us that for the love that God has for us, he sent us his only son to die for us (Jn 3:16). What greater love is there than this, God giving his only son for us as a demonstration of his love for us.
Scripture not only tells us that God gave us his son, but it vividly shows us that Jesus Christ is God himself (Jn 1:1,14; Luk 1: 32-33; Isa 9:6-7).
“Put simply, the Bible tells us that Jesus is both completely human and completely God. This is a crucial point to understand about him, for it is only the fully human, fully divine Son of God who can save us. If Jesus were just another man—like us in every respect, including our fallenness and sin—he would no more be able to save us than one dead man can save another.”
– Greg Gilbert.
Isn’t this wonderful! God himself, King of Kings and Lord of Lords did not choose the easy way out by sending someone lower than him to redeem us; he gave himself up for us that we might become his righteousness.
You see, King Jesus came not only to inaugurate the kingdom of God, but also to bring sinners into it by dying in their place and for their sin, taking their punishment on himself and securing forgiveness for them, making them righteous in God’s sight, and qualifying them to share in the inheritance of the kingdom (Col. 1:12).
They were my transgressions, but his wounds. My iniquities, but his chastisement. My sin, his sorrow. And his punishment bought my peace. His stripes won my healing. His grief, my joy. His death, my life.
What a King!
Metanoia 