A letter from Anthony...
“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10
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I apologise to those who enjoy watching the football, but personally I don’t think I have ever managed to sit through an entire game. And down here in the Riverina you seem to play a strange “Aerial Ping-Pong” style football that I don’t quite understand anyway. I actually really enjoy playing sports of many kinds, and I’m sure that “Aerial Ping-Pong” is a lot of fun if you understand what is going on. But I have never really been someone who enjoys watching someone else play a sport. I do understand that I’m probably in the vast minority on this, as many Australians look forward to watching the tennis, the footy or cricket – and seem to get really excited about them.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with enjoying different things. Not everybody is into tinkering on old cars like me (at least not very many people with any sense). And yet, if we are honest, it’s often those that we have interests in common with that we are drawn to. It’s those who have the same interests as us – who want to talk about what we want to talk about, and want to participate in the activities or sports that we enjoy – that we most easily and naturally connect with.
One of the most striking things about those who follow Jesus is that we are an extraordinarily diverse group of people. Among those who follow Jesus there is a vast array of differences, preferences, and views. Our political views, our occupations, our hobbies and interests – and more widely even our nationalities and ethnicities – vary greatly. But despite these differences, the certain hope we have in Christ unites us in a way that makes all of those differences pale in significance.
My prayer this week, for us as members of Christ’s body, is that we would be encouraged by the knowledge that despite the challenges of social distancing and social isolation and social differences, we are united as one body through a single and certain hope of life beyond the grave, of hope beyond the challenges and struggles of this life, a hope that is certain because is it grounded in the completed work of Christ.
Despite this difficult season – and despite the things we may or may not have in common on the surface – may we be challenged to find new ways of connecting with those in whom we have the most important thing in common; eternal hope through the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Christ, Anthony
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