Minister’s letter July 2018
Dear friends,
Shhhhh…………come closer……….…let me whisper something to you……….I don’t actually like football very much. There it is, I’ve confessed! Unlikely though it may seem with a husband who is a referee and two sons who, with him, are keen Watford supporters, you would think that over the years some of their enthusiasm would have rubbed off, but no, I’ve never been bitten by the bug and I couldn’t tell you the offside rule to save my life!
Nevertheless, there’s something about World Cup fever that is catching. It’s hard not to share in the sense of optimism and hope that is buzzing around at this stage of the games. Where else could diverse countries from opposites sides of the world do battle without bloodshed, Davids and Goliaths compete on an even playing field, or people of different faiths and ethnicities play for the same team and be judged only on their footballing skill? Of course supporters want their own country’s team to win, that’s only natural, but there’s a grace in playing well and yet losing that softens the blow of the defeat.
The excitement of the World Cup invades our TV screens and social media, it pervades our schools, shops and conversations. Children – and adults! – are busy collecting World Cup stickers. We can try to avoid it or we can embrace it and join in the celebration or commiseration as each game is played.
I think the atmosphere at the Russian venues must be amazing and electrifying. It would blow a person away tACo be there and join in when the crowds erupt into singing. I can’t help thinking: wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear such a mass of voices praising God? The nearest I’ve ever come to it was at Soul Survivor where over 9,000 young people and their leaders crammed into a Big Top every evening and sung their hearts out. A goose-bumps moment for sure. Yet 9,000 pales into insignificance compared with the numbers that attend World Cup matches, with the 1950 final between Brazil and Uruguay still holding the record for the highest attendance ever at nearly 200,000.
Imagine if all those people gathered, not to watch their football heroes but in love and adoration of the greatest hero of all time: Jesus Christ….. Well, the Bible promises us that such a day will come when ‘at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Philip. 2: 10) On that day surely we will taste heaven and everyone will be a winner.
With every blessing,
Sharon
