One of the things I love to do with my eldest son is to go and watch AFL football. We’re both tragic North Melbourne fans, but despite their infrequent wins, we just love to go and watch the footy! In fact, we love it so much that we will even go and watch the pre-season trial games. One year, we travelled up-country to Shepparton to watch the Kangaroos play the Hawks.
One of the first things you notice when you go to a ‘local footy ground’ compared to stadia like the MCG and Marvel is that the majority of people stand to watch rather than taking up a prime spot on a seat. Another noteworthy point is that hosting an AFL game is a significant event for a regional country town. People come from all around the district to watch the ‘big league,’ and it doesn’t matter if they barrack for either team.
As I stood waiting for the game to commence, I took the opportunity to do some people-watching. It was clear that groups of friends had decided to meet up at the game. This understanding was further confirmed when I noticed a particularly large group of people to my right, who were just there, talking away and oblivious to anything else.
I was able to hear their friendly banter, and an elderly gentleman who was ‘holding court’ was waxing lyrical about his infamous playing days. Eventually, one of the others standing around said in a very cheeky tone, “Yeah, yeah, Dougie, but that was back then. We don’t play footy like that anymore!”
Everyone, including Dougie, had a good laugh, and then the conversation moved on.
The words of Dougie’s mate also reminded me of a time when I heard a statement made by an English television commentator: “Jesus is a spent force in the life of humanity.” In other words, Jesus has basically had His day!
This same commentator went on to cite Scottish philosopher and writer from the Victorian era, Thomas Carlyle. It was said that once, Thomas Carlyle stood before an Italian crucifix that had been erected on the side of the road. He supposedly slowly shook his head and said, “Poor fellow, you have had your day.”
There are many people today who would share this perspective of Thomas Carlyle’s. They would believe that Jesus, just like Dougie, has had His day! Yet, despite saying this, Thomas Carlyle, in his later years, came to hold a different view about Jesus. He later wrote, “(Jesus) Christ’s days are not over but just beginning!”
Often, when Jesus has been misunderstood, it is because of a miserable misrepresentation of Him that does not reflect the real person. The truth is, it is through living by Jesus’ teaching and experiencing a close and personal relationship with Him that followers of Jesus have helped keep the heart and soul of humanity alive.
Jesus Christ is the Creator of the best and finest in all of humanity. It is only by having a close and personal relationship with Him that we have the key to knowing God.
When we listen to Jesus, we hear God speaking to us in a language we can all understand—a human language! When we give our hearts to Jesus in simple obedience, our lives are changed, lifted, redeemed and renewed!
He is the one unspent force of humanity and stands in this age as He has stood in every age. No wonder the book of Hebrews describes Jesus as “the same yesterday, today, and forever” in Hebrews 13:8.
This is why followers of Jesus love to celebrate Easter, as it reminds us of who Jesus truly is and that He has always been and will always be the same.
It is my prayer that each member of this community—students, staff members and parents—especially over this Easter break, comes to understand and appreciate that our Lord Jesus is still as relevant today as He has ever been. May this be a deep encouragement for us to continue to follow Him.