Victory to Australia!
Well, the long weekend is over and the Australian Socceroos have succeeded in winning their first game in the World cup, against Japan.
I spent the evening (and early morning) at a friends house. He had set up a large projection screen and had the lounges and chairs arranged for a comfortable view of the match for about a dozen or more of us that arrived. After a few games of pool on the nearby billiards table we settled in to watch the match.
Having conceeded a goal in the first half, the socceroos must have tasted bitter disappointment, and it seemed that it was impossible to break through the defence of the Japanese team despite a much higher shot rate at goal. However in the last 8 minutes or so of the game, when Australia scored the equaliser, then a second and finally a third goal, the triumph was complete.
With each successive goal, our screams of jubilation rose until it reached a crescendo of cheers, whistles, and "woohoos". I must say that I did feel somewhat sorry for the surrounding neighbours that weren't soccer supporters, because anyone who was asleep within a kilometre radius would surely have sat bolt upright in bed at the cacophony of male voices that echoed throughout the suburb at each and every moment that Australia scored, and especially at the final whistle.
There is a certain comraderie that is felt between men of similar mind, and similar desires. When they get together to share in the enjoyment of a similarly appreciated sporting event, even more so. However, I have never heard a more disjointed and staggered rendition of the Australian National Anthem such as the one that we men attempted at the beginning of the socceroos debut match. We were out of tune, out of time, and quite possibly some of us were out of our minds, but we all stood together with patriotic pride to indicate the appreciation we have for our country. Our origins may have been Scottish, British, German, or any other country represented there, however we all became united by a common love. A love of this country and a love of soccer (except for the guy with the funny haircut!). We shared that night, a common desire of victory despite the odds.
When those desires are fulfilled by the victory of a sporting team, especially one of national representation, then the comraderie is sweet indeed.
Now, what better common love and desire is there, in the history of mankind, than to seek the deepest mysteries that underpin, the universe, our world, and our individual lives, and to know Him who is behind it all, who has the key to our ultimate joy. The sharing of our common spiritual ancestry, and the will to discover and share the purpose innate in that commonality must be the cause of the greatest comraderie that ever could be.
I wonder if we will ever in this life cheer as loudly about the victory we have in Christ. I suspect that when he scores that final goal that seals the fate of the opposition, and then that final whistle blows, there will be a triumphant cheer that will wake up not only the neighbours, but every creature both physical and spiritual in all existence. Unlike a soccer match, the victory in this game is guaranteed, and we await the final whistle with great anticipation.
Now that is a game to get excited about!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Good stuff Greg...
It was good to be participating in an active audience - Julie reckons the house shook harder with each goal celebrated! Fortunately the kids remained asleep and undisturbed.
It's always a danger to engage me in creative thought... your blog has already sparked a number of thoughts...
I like the way you link practical experience to spiritual values,though I wonder about your final allusion. In the past I would have agreed, but as time goes on and God moves in my heart, my spirit, my soul, my mind I am coming to another way of viewing life.
Your allusion is probably an accurate representation of the majority view in the church - particularly in our privileged and materialistic first world. Increasingly I wonder if it is the perspective the Lord intends for His followers... I don't believe it is...
In reality we play church like we watched the football - the vast majority spectating, as a mere few take hold of the reality, get off the bench and into the game. It's not God's plan... He has a much bigger playing field and invites every human being in all of history to play. There is a time of coaching, training and development - a time to learn how much we are loved and to learn to respond. There is a time to learn what the framework of God's game is... once we realise we're chosen in God's team, we know that we have to play His game within His rules - we don't run on a soccer field with an oval ball and try to play baseball!
The rules give us the framework to play together, but they don't limit our freedom to express ourselves within the game. There are times when things are moving fast and times to slow down to recover - times to be refreshed by springs of living water and times to receive treatment for healing of wounds gathered along the way. There are times for training, times to learn some new skills and be refreshed on our current skills. Once we're in the game though there is no place for seeking individual glory and no place to simply sit and do nothing... We all work together, to see the coach's plan worked out as the captain directs the onfield execution of that plan.
I believe it's more accurate to see the final game is actually already over. Jesus has kicked the goal, the fate of the opposition is already sealed, there is a great crowd of witnesses cheering the conclusion of the whole event - the trophy, literally, is the world and He has the whole world in His hands!
God reveals the truth to us by the action and initiative of His Holy Spirit - He opens the eyes of our spirit to see... the question is what we then choose to allow ourselves to see... Whether we allow ourselves to be aware of spiritual realities, whether we choose to participate in bringing kingdom realities into earthly experience.
The church generally lives as if the decision is not yet final. Increasingly I believe God expects us to live lives of celebration and victory. Those who choose to place spiritual realities first, who are already singing and dancing, who are exuberant in victory, who believe that the spoils of the victor truly belong to them are generally labelled misfits and derided - much like Michal was embarrassed at the exuberance of her husband King David.
I am reminded of the moral of a tale by Hans Christian Anderson, in which the vanity of the majority - who, in fear of what others might think, choose to see something that is not there - is exposed by the simplicity of a child who remarks - "the emperor has no clothes." The truth is exposed when we, applying faith as simple as a child, choose to see things as they truly are, then choose to act in accordance with that reality, rather than fearful of what others may think of us...
Will we choose to change, will we choose to be transformed by actively renewing our minds, changing our thinking to line it up with God's truth? Will we instead stay within the limitations of what we already know, will we choose to prefer our own nakedness to the risk of being clothed in a new and fresh way - clothed in Christ? What would it look like to truly be clothed in Christ - was He not seen as an extremist, as dangerous, as mad, as possessed by a spirit... is that not how we should be seen?
Will we choose to sit in the safety of our own salvation, or risk exposing the truth that we are clothed in Christ for the sake of those who do not yet know Him? Is our salvation safe - does it even truly exist in us - if we are not passionately responding to the love of God?
The "emperor's kingdom," that is the kingdom of the church in general, is naked, without substance, based on vanity, living in fear of what others might think. That is why the church in the west is dying... it is NOT the church that Jesus is building, the "vain emperor's kingdom" is a poor substitute for the kingdom of THE King.
Returning to your final allusion, it would be more accurate to suggest, that we presently exist in a significant, but short period of time, between the final whistle and the awards ceremony. The losing side are making loud complaints and decrying their loss - trying to engage as many as they can in support of their arguments... but the final whistle has been blown... bring on the awards ceremony... let us crown the Captain of the Host, the leader of the winning team
be blessed,
mike mcg
Thanks for the comments Mike.
I think perhaps we agree, though our use of the analogy might differ.
When I spoke of "final goal that seals the fate of the opposition" I did not intend to suggest that this fate was not already decided, merely that it hasn't been played out to its final conclusion just yet, hence the reason why I said "Unlike a soccer match, the victory in this game is guaranteed". I think most people would agree that the enemy has a bit of a stranglehold on much of the world today, both in and out of the church, however, even before the beginning of time, the final outcome was already decided.
We still live in an age where this has yet to come to pass, even though there is no doubt about the outcome, nor any doubt about the ultimate victory of the cross. Yes there is currently a great victory and it is to be celebrated but we have only received in part the fullness of the victory, otherwise we would claim that earth is heaven, and none of us would still have this deep-seated longing to see it all fulfilled.
In the meantime I agree that sitting on the sidelines is not what we should be doing and we should be actively involved in the plays of the game. There certainly needs to be a paradigm shift in the majority of western churches today, and I agree with the need to see with spiritual eyes.
I suppose my mention of the final goal was an allusion to the final binding and destruction of the enemy, to once and for all fulfil God's plan with respect to the deceiver, and the final whistle to signify the coming of a new age for those who have "run the race" or "played the game" to receive the prize. For now we see like a dim reflection in a mirror and then we will see face to face. Thats what I look forward to and what I believe will evoke an almighty cheer. But as the saying goes it's not just pie in the sky when you die, its the steak on your plate while you wait.
Of course the soccer analogy falls down in many ways, like most analogies tend to do if you try to take them too far, but if we are able to see through a small window of truth that would otherwise not be visible, then they can be of some use, as long as we recognise their limitations.
Very deeeeep! AWESOME stuff. Having read the blog and both comments I will ponder. In the mean time I've been called into the game and must go play now. As that famous sporting quote says 'Just Do It'
Post a Comment