Let Me Tell You a Story

As with many of my recent posts (I'm using a relative time scale, here; I realize not many of my posts can be considered "recent" anymore), I'm going to start by talking about something I like. Unlike those other posts, I'm pretty much going to end there. Ye be warned. Continue at your own risk.

One of my favorite video games is Assassin's Creed. I own all of the main games, and I have played through the first two installments in the series twice each, despite the fact that the first one isn't really that great of a game in comparison to the others. I own a hoodie styled after the Assassins' uniform, and a ring with the symbol of the Assassins engraved on it. You could say I'm a bit obsessed. You wouldn't be the first.

What most people don't know, however, is why I like Assassin's Creed so much. Sure, there is the amazing gameplay and unnecessarily violent executions, but there's more too it than that. It has to do with the storyline of the game. If you are not familiar with it, allow me to enlighten you. If you are familiar with it, you might not have ever heard it phrased in this way. Either way, continue reading, if you are so inclined, and let me tell you a story.

Let me tell you a story. This story is about a group of people. This group was relatively small, but it seemed as though most of the world was against them. In reality, a single driving force opposed them, but this force extended its reach to nearly every aspect of life. But this small group of people knew the truth: that something big was coming; something terrible would happen, and it was not that far off. But the rest of the world, and the forces that opposed them, could not see it. They refused to see it. And the force that opposed them was content to keep them blind to the truth and use the illusions to further their own ends. But this group worked tirelessly to free people from the illusion and reveal the truth. They sought to liberate people from their slavery, warn them of the coming disaster, and show them the hope that still remained.

Now at one point early on in the life of this group, one part of the group sought to use the group to further their own interest. They had subtly but willingly joined with the force that opposed this group. This hurt the group, but the truth persisted, and the faithful members rescued the group. And this group began to grow and propagate. And it spread to all different cultures and societies and manifested itself in all different ways. Some bold heroes of the group left their culture to bring the cause of the group to other places that had never heard of it, or to places that had only a small faction of the group and needed teaching and training. And all the while the forces of the world tried to oppose this group, but somehow this small group persisted and survived. In fact, it thrived and multiplied. And every so often they would receive messages from beyond that would confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that what they were doing was true and just and right.

And in the effort to further their cause and the truth, this group has shaped the course of history. Many famous historical events were shaped in a large part by members of this group. But too often they were lost in the background by the history books. But it didn't matter, because the truth and their cause continued throughout the ages. And the more time that passed, the more urgent their mission became, and the more important it was that they dispel the illusion that the opposing forces so eagerly wished to keep in place. And the forces that opposed them tried everything they could. They persecuted this group in all manner of ways, but it didn't matter, because this group knew the truth. In the midst of chaos and attacks from the enemy, they kept their eyes on the truth and on the end, because they knew what was coming, and it compelled them to act.

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Did you catch it? If you are not familiar with the storyline of the games, the group is the Assassins, and the opposing force is the Templars. The games manage to insinuate the conflict between these two sides into nearly every major event in history, from the fall of Rome to World War II to Mahatma Ghandi. 

For those of you who are familiar with this storyline, and especially for those of you that aren't - namely, the ones who think my obsession is childish and trivial - I invite you to contemplate the following: what if I told you that the above story is, in fact, not about Assassin's Creed?

As a matter of fact, this story is true. It is the story of the Church of Jesus Christ and their mission to spread the Gospel to all people of all nations.

I contend that many of my passions and obsessions are similar to this one. True, there is usually something about the surface level that appeals to me, but often it does not stop there. When you have a spare moment for thought, consider applying this logic to me, your friends, or even yourself. Ask the question, is there a larger story at work here? Is there something beneath the surface tickles my deepest desires and entices me in deeper? You might be surprised at what you find.