What can we learn about fresh starts in 2019 from Nicodemus, a crusty Pharisee from Bible times? What if we’re called to start over again, too?
Let’s go there.
We are all four on the floor around the Candy Land board: Jeff, me, and the two young girls visiting for the weekend. Everybody is happy as long as our plastic gingerbread characters are moving forward, even happier when we get cards with two squares of the same color or the Queen Frostine card.
But what if you have to move your marker backward? What if you draw the Gramma Nut card when you’ve already made it to Molasses Swamp (although you don’t want to get stuck there either)?
It can bring serious tears.
Who Was Nicodemus?
I wonder if Nicodemus felt that way, too. He was a Pharisee (John 3:1), the group of Jewish leaders that interpreted the levitical law very strictly, especially for outward appearances. The Pharisees were particularly hard on Jesus, and Jesus didn’t take it easy on them either, often calling them out for their hypocrisy, see Matthew 23.
But Nicodemus was obviously puzzled by this Jesus guy. He’d heard suspicious rumors about crazy doctrines and even crazier actions by Jesus. Nicodemus indicated that he, however, believed Jesus might be straight from God, based on the things he had heard.
But he needed more information. So he went to the source Himself.
Round 1 – Back to Go
When he snuck in to see Jesus in the cover of night (John 3:1-21), he was likely disappointed by Jesus’ words:
Go back to the Start line. Be born again.
We might not like that advice either. We don’t like losing ground we thought we’ve gained. We don’t want to risk a turnaround, to face a loss of reputation or current momentum.
But if the direction we’ve been heading is off course? Sometimes the best position is to start all over. A fresh start.
Jesus told Nicodemus he needed a new birth. To look straight at Him. To believe in Him.
Trust Jesus more than tradition. Take pride in the Kingdom more than the nation. Grow your relationship more than your religion.
Round 2 – Defend Your Friend
Nicodemus shows up again in Jesus’s story six months before Jesus’ crucifixion (John 7:46-53). When his fellow Pharisees were questioning Jesus’s authority, Nicodemus asked them this:
Does our Law say a man is guilty without first listening to him and seeing him?
It was a brave question amongst a hostile crowd.
Could Nicodemus’ courage have been a direct result of his earlier encounter with Jesus? Did going all the way back to the start line, the new birth, after their talk in the dark, totally revamp Nicodemus’ faith?
Direct encounters are often the most life-changing ones. The ones where we’re on our knees before Jesus. No mediators. No pretensions.
Would an encounter like that make us more brave also? More faithful? More devoted?
Round 3 – Acts of Love
Nicodemus appears a third time in the gospel of John after Jesus is buried (John 19:38-42).
After Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’s dead body off the cross for burial, Nicodemus showed up—in broad daylight this time—with about 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, per the Jewish burial custom, to wrap Jesus’ body in linen and spices.
This could only have been the action of a devoted disciple, a true lover of Jesus, the Son of God.
And it all had started with his curiosity. A let-down of his guard. A genuine seeking of the truth.
It’s Our Turn Now
Can we do those things, too? Even in the middle of our faith, can we be inquisitive enough to learn new lessons? Remain open to new evidence. Humble ourselves for fresh revelations.
Even if it means starting all over again. And again. And again.
One of the rules of Candy Land is that young players can ignore the backward cards. They might not can handle it. But older players?
When our Candy Land cards kept sending Jeff and I backward instead of forward toward King Kandy, we tried to model healthy adult behavior of accepting our backward movements as fine with us. (It wasn’t too hard.)
But the real test comes in everyday life.
At the start of this new year, can we be like Nicodemus? Are we willing to let go of things we thought we knew, of ministries we thought we’d mastered, of jobs we think we’re the best for?
Returning to square one is not usually our first choice. But if it means a clean slate and seeing the Father in Candy Castle in fresh ways, let’s go back to Go.
Going backward is sometimes a step forward.
Have you ever had to start all over at a project or job or relationship? What happened? What about in your faith? Please share in the comments.
Lisa, I was blessed in reading this post as I also shared today about returning to the crossroads. Sometimes we need to go back in order to move forward on the path God has for us. We may not like it, it may not make sense, but it is the right and best path He will surely lead us on.
And many a tear [and a few temper tantrums] have been had over Candy Land :)
Blessings!
Thanks for sharing, Joanne. Yes, I’m currently experiencing a Square One moment myself, and I’ve cried a few tears about it (and probably thrown a temper tantrum too, if I’m honest, ha). But I need to be patient with the process that God has set up, and keep seeking Him instead of being discouraged at what appears to be backward motion. His ways are not our ways so how can I judge what is forward and what is backward anyway?
I continue to be amazed at how devastating and how important Candy Land can be to young kids. :) Does God look at us the same way about how we respond to our own “games”?
inquisitive. humble. always a perpetual student.
who’d have guessed that Candy Lane had such life-altering lessons to teach us, Lisa …
It just goes to show us that God can use anything to teach us His lessons. I can only imagine what Chutes and Ladders or Monopoly can also reveal about Him. :)
Thank you for sharing this story of faith, courage and love. The human emotions sometimes get lost in the Scriptures. Thank you for showing us how Nicodemus must have felt when he learned he had to move backward to go forward.
And…we love playing Candyland with our grandkids too. Somehow, they always wind up winning!
I’d love to sit down and have long conversations with the people in these stories. I wonder if eternity will be full of talking amongst ourselves too as we worship God. :)
I’m not sure how that happens in Candy Land but the kids always beat me too, fair and square.
Love this, Lisa . . . first for truth, second for a nostalgic romp through my childhood. I loved Candyland! Note those children–circa fifties I should think. I am, meaning, when I was born. I’m always needing humility to unlearn what I thought I knew! We are always beginners with God, aren’t we? Thanks for the great (and illustrated!) point!
xo
Happy NY!
Lynn
Yes, that is the way to put it, Lynn: We are always beginners with God. And the older I get, the more I see that. :)
I didn’t realize until this week that Candy Land undergoes changes every few years. They’ve renamed characters, exchanged the cards for a spinner, etc. Who knew? ;)
Interesting. Tx for letting me know about C.L, b/c I didn’t recognize all the names you were using. :) I guess mine came out in the Dark Ages! :)
Oh my goodness was this a refreshing read, Lisa. A pastor I know once called this “unlearning to learn.” The backwards illustration is so helpful. Thank you!
Unlearning to learn–yes! It’s definitely not the easiest thing to do, but sometimes it really is the best way to learn something new. Thanks for sharing that, Bethany!
I haven’t played Candy Land since *I* was a kid and clearly, I’m missing out! What I’m not missing out on are “do-overs” ! Go back, re-learn, do over = humble yourself. I’m so thankful that God is in the midst of it all – comforting and strengthening me as I learn healthy Christ-like behavior! Great insight and encouragement today, friend! Blessings on your weekend.
It had been awhile since I had played Candy Land, too, and then I played twice with two different sets of kids in less than a month. ha. I get lots and lots of do-overs myself. I’m thankful in the end. But in the middle? I can be prone to tears at times like the kids. :) Blessings to you, too, June!
Lisa – Did you write this just for me? Haha. I have found myself in a place where I need to pull back. Letting go of things is not my nature but I need to in order to take hold of God and find a little more balance in my life. Loved your words of wisdom. Thank you for sharing with Grace & Truth Christian Link-Up. Maree
Ha. Actually I think I wrote it for myself, without even realizing it! After I had written the rough draft, a situation came up that really pushed me back to square one. :( And other situations have piled on since then. God really does know what He’s doing! :) I’m glad this resonated with you too. Thanks, Maree!
Nobody likes setbacks. It took a lot of setbacks to realize that sometimes it’s the only way to ultimately to move forward. Wisdom is like that; it takes experience and some emotional pain to learn what’s best.
I still struggle with going backwards, probably always will, but if it’s ordained by God then there is no sense in “kicking against the goads!”
I’d forgotten all about that game… I must have lost too many times to like it!
You’re right, Floyd: it takes wisdom to accept our setbacks as profitable. And it also takes you-know-what…humility. It pops up everywhere, yes? You’ve really trained me through the years to look for it. (Now if I’d just learn to practice it more and more!) Thanks, brother.
“Humility, the place of entire dependence on God, is the first duty and the highest virtue of the creature, and the root of every virtue. And so pride, or the loss of this humility, is the root of every sin and evil.”
Andrew Murray