by: Joel Villaraza

       It's a checkmate!  You're out of move.  You're cornered, there's no where to run.  Give up, you're done.  You have lost the game!

       This is the illustration in the painting entitled The Chess Players  created by German painter named Moritz Retzsch.  The devil is playing chess game with a young man in a battle for his soul.  The man despite having the white pieces found his king cornered and was thinking desperately how to avoid a checkmate.  He was apparently in a state of agony knowing that he had lost the game.  The devil on the other side of the table was grinning wickedly thinking that he made the final move to end the game and claim victory.  The angel at the middle of the picture was about to burst into tears when she saw that the young man did not only lose the game but also his precious soul.

       Paul Morphy, an American chess master and hailed as a world champion in 1858 was on tour one time in Europe.  He was visiting an art gallery with his friend and it happened that they ran into this painting depicting two men playing a chess game against each other.  Being a chess player with great passion for the game, the painting caught his attention.  He studied the picture and looked at it for a long moment.   His friend instead of waiting for Morphy decided to move on to view other art exhibits in the room.  Morphy got fixated at the chessboard and stared at it intriguingly.  Stunned and flabbergasted with what he had discovered, he stepped back and excitedly exclaimed, "It is not over yet.  The King has one more move!" 

     The lesson of the story is that any person no matter how desperate their situation in life should not play any game with Satan or his devils.  Satan being in the business of deceiving people since the beginning of creation is a dark being who takes pleasure in leading people astray.  The devil takes pride in destroying people's lives.  The devil's work is to steal, kill and to destroy (John 10:10 NIV).  He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8 NIV).  Playing with the devil can be in the form of betting which can lead to compulsive gambling or toying with drugs which can lead to dreadful drug addiction.  Nobody can win against Satan because since the time of his fall, he has been sending countless number of souls to destruction.
   
       The story has also one important lesson to teach.  A person who finds himself in the grip of the devil by being in a hopeless situation can still be redeemed.  Anyone who asks for forgiveness and turns back to God for help is still qualified for grace and salvation.  The Bible says, "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9 NIV).  Yes, there is still hope and the door is still open on the way to Christ.   Just like when Paul Morphy exclaimed, "It is not over yet.  The King has one more move!"  Jesus, being the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is declaring to everyone that it is not over yet.  There is still one more move to being saved even from a terrible sin.  All is not lost  to anyone who will truly repent and accept Him as Lord and Savior.