Reality in a Virtual World - Stewart's Story

What if I told you that there's this place where people from all around the world gather together? This place is both real and unreal at the same time. I've met a lot of people in this place that are hopeless, they're depressed. A lot of them are at their end. I know of this place and these people because I was one of them. Despite having loving parents and loving older brother, I often felt alone. Like really alone. I stood alone at lunch and most days no one would even talk to me. Eventually it was just easier to not make friends. So that's why I love gaming. I can be anyone, go anywhere, do anything, and forget about the rest of life. Even though I went to disconnect, funny enough, this is where I found friends. And through gaming, I met a girl, a very special girl, and we ended up meeting in person and being in a six year serious relationship. But all that ended. And I lost my best friend. And again, I felt alone. Completely alone. After that I was there, but not really there. I numbed out, but instead of drugs, I went to digital worlds. And I found an endless immersive virtual world. Here there are real people with real lives. Regardless of it's a bit make believe. And these people can even be more real, more genuine than many people that I've met in my life. There's a lot of beautiful places, but there's also some really dark places. In the midst of feeling hopeless, I even chased after women in this place. I made it a game. Over time I realized that it's all vanity. It's a vapor, it's mist. I knew what I wanted, but honestly I could never find the one that I truly needed. One day I was driving and I had been asking God, what's so special about the cross? You see, even though I'd been growing up in church and I heard the gospel many a times, it never made any sense to me. At that moment, God met me where I was. At that moment, I felt peace, I felt joy, and I was not alone. God was more real to me in that moment than anything else that had ever been. From that time on, I had a deep desire to learn about God, but I didn't know where to go. And so I went to the place that I felt most comfortable at. And there I found a church and a pastor that was preaching the gospel. And I met up with the pastor and everything changed. I gave my life to Christ. At that moment, again, I felt joy in a place that was real, but also not real. Jesus found me at my end and I will never be alone again. He is with us, even to the ends of the earth.