I’ve wanted to celebrate this aspect of 4 square for quite some time now and today is the day. I must always emphasize that 4 square is the official game of community, so with that being said, 4 square is the official game of community. We, as community directors at Watermark, want to practice what we preach, and the desire to never be called a hypocrites fuels us to get our weekly “game in” at work; it has become our male bonding time.
In games, rules are everything, and to no surprise there is a whole website http://www.squarefour.org/rules , and 4 square community dedicated to the official play of this fine game. It’s funny how much “gray” there is in what seems to be very black and white rules. For example, check out this rule on serving:
“Serves are meant to place the ball fairly into play and must be returnable by the player in square one, generally taking its first bounce near the center of square one. As they say on playgrounds, “No blood on serves.”
My question is…”what’s returnable”. It’s up to the discretion of the other 3 players. You would find it shocking how disagreements and almost bloodshed there has been over the “gray” areas in the rules, and we all love each other and are paid to help people live in community.
Sound a little like community? We have these guiding values in scripture (see some previous posts or click on resource tab), but there is alot of gray when you are doing relationships with others. Love is the guiding principle (Matt 22).
But here is the most celebrated aspect and virtue of 4 square: THE SELF CALL
This will all translate to community in a minute, but the self call is just like it sounds. Calling yourself out when you know you are out of bounds or when you know you have violated a rule. It’s extremely hard because even in a game like 4 square, you want to win, you want to self-preserve, and be the victor. When we walk in the flesh (Gal. 5) we operate in a similar way. Here’s the translation…
There is nothing better in community then when someone demonstrates humility. They come to you and confess their sin that they were “out of bounds”. Like this, “What I did, what i said, was not how Jesus wants me to respond to you, will you forgive me?”
As a recipient, one of the best phrases you will ever hear is, “i hurt you, will you forgive me”, “i invalidated you will you forgive me”, I wasn’t gentle, kind, good, joyful, peaceful, loving, humble, (fill in the blank), when i did this to you, will you forgive me?”
There are plenty of passages on forgiveness like Matt. 18 (parable of the unmerciful servant), and going to be reconciled with your brother (matt 5:23-24), and confessing sin (james 5:16), but i want you to chew on this passage.
“And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:16-17
One of the marks of a follower of Jesus is one who knows that their heart is sick and unrighteous (Jer. 17:9), and there is something freeing about being with people in your community that constantly affirm that they are sick and they are following the physician who is restoring life to them and making them well. Do you see the connection with the self-call. Having a proper view of yourself as a sinner who is saved by grace, but who continues to sin (until the resurrection), has a sense of humility that will seek out their brother to ask forgiveness or make the “self-call”. They are healthy believers and people to live in community with. When was the last time you made a “self call”? When you sought someone out just to ask for their forgiveness? Start with your wife…when? Your community…when? Something to chew on. Peace out. Rob
