Where are we standing?
The world witnessed one of the most iconic football World Cup finals yesterday. When Messi finally got his hands on the trophy, the whole world gave a standing ovation. Year by year, the reasons to watch the World cup matches have gone up, and so has the number of viewers. In the 2018 World cup, More than half of the world(3.5bn people) watched the matches from different places(Source: FIFA). The numbers would definitely rise this year. Reports say there were over 2.5 bn followers on Instagram for the World Cup players this year even before the tournament kicked off. (Source: www.bettingexpert.com)
We've had both kinds of fans and followers this season - the regular and seasonal ones. Having a call to follow Christ, we too can learn a few lessons from the way the world followed football this World Cup.
A Call for all
A call to follow Christ is one for all disciples. Jesus made it clear - "And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.""(Luke 9:23, ESV) Jesus was saying, 'You want to follow me? Here's how. This is the way to do it. Deny yourself. Yes, yourself. Take up the cross. Yes, there is a cross. And come behind me. Today. Tomorrow. Everyday. Follow me."
You want to follow me? Here's how. This is the way to do it.
Follow Everyday
Seasonal fans don't always follow their favorite teams. The world cup has ended, the football fever will die, and so will their excitement to follow. Until the next major tournament or league, they will have plenty of other things to do. But, following Christ is not something we do in a particular season. Every day, the call of Christ ought to ring in our ears, "Follow me, today"!
Follow 'only' Him
Nobody will question you for following multiple teams or players, or switching your team during the tournament. Some fans stayed with their teams when they lost. Others found better teams to go with. For the finals, everyone was either France or Argentina. But it's clear from Jesus' call to us, we can follow Him, and only Him. There will be days when following our own ideas or the people around us is easier than following Christ. But on any day, you and I ought to choose Jesus above everything and everyone else. In Him, you find your ultimate example, goal, and joy.
Knowing Him
You can't get to know much about a team from a seasonal fan. They know too little about their teams. Regular fans would know more. They've followed their teams long enough. They've been with one team for a long time.
Many of us, know Jesus too little - because we haven't followed Him long enough. Too little time has been spent, too less effort taken and no real desire has been shown to know Christ.
They've followed their teams long enough.
Let's be clear - we don't get to know Christ without showing some discipline for the same. It needs to be first on your priority list - like Paul kept. "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:8, ESV) Paul gave time, paid heavy costs, and gave up much - all to know Christ. That's discipline.
How do I follow?
As many of us stop following football for a while (and some of us won't), I suggest it would be good to reflect on how we follow Christ. Daily? Only Him? No matter what? In a world of seasonal fans, we need to rise to the level of committed followers. After all, 11 of his 12 disciples paid a price with their lives, following Him. They considered Him worthy to be followed with everything they had. Do we?
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