Fake ID
My voice started to waver as the Welsh national anthem came to a close. Singing alongside my Welsh brethren in a packed English bar as our homeland took on the infamous white army in Twickenham, was quite simply an honour. Our pocket of Welsh escapees had taken over a Preston watering hole with choral bombardments and banter to the highest level. I could imagine Jesus sitting with both sets of fans laughing out loud over a neutral pint of Guinness. (Probably wearing a Welsh shirt though).
Just before kick off a man standing just to the left of me pointed straight in my direction and started chanting “sheep shagger”. Though I have heard this insult a thousand times spilling from English lips, it still hurts. But why does it hurt!? Quite simply because its true. Not really, but I thought that would get your attention.
It’s the most average insult to use on anyone. The likelihood of it being true is so remote, its like me calling someone a petrol drinker, or a cloud maker.
So why does it hurt? It hurts because its the here and now, its the circumstances, its the six inches in front of my face.
Things just hurt. Like when my boss doesn’t thank me for going the extra mile, or when I’m mocked for going to bed early, or when one of the lads takes pity on my inability to relate with women by suggesting I try men, or when nobody asks you how you are on a really bad day, or when the little chav calls you a cube headed geek, or when the girl doesn’t feel the same way about you.
The here and now hurts. The here and now seemingly has complete control of how I feel.
However, after reading a bit about Jesus, I have come to the conclusion that there is a difference between living for the here and now and being controlled by it.
Jesus calls his followers to be in the world, to sympathise with the sad, to grieve with those in mourning, to stay alert everyday and to work hard. We are called to throw ourselves at life.
But he also calls us not to be governed by what we see. In fact, he calls us to be governed only by what is unseen.
Consider these words by Paul the Apostle:
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3 vs 20 to 24
I don’t think Paul’s identity would have been rocked by off-handed comments.
Peace.
