Cardiff Men's Convention Blog

OK, so not every man is into football, but you can’t escape the fact that the World Cup is a mega global phenomenon.  From North Korea to Honduras and from New Zealand to Nigeria tens of millions which be watching and listening to follow the teams.  And for those of us who love God more than football it is nice to know that among the sporting superstars showing their skills this month there are a few at least that share our faith.  Indeed, God has his people everywhere but I suspect that there are probably far more committed Christians among the programme sellers and stewards from the local South African communities than among those on the pitch.

I think Jesus’ words about the rich person finding it hard to get into the kingdom of God probably apply also to the very talented or the very successful although the door to the kingdom is open to anyone who recognizes their need of Christ.

Anyway,  to the point.  The fact is that notice is taken of high profile sportsmen who claim to follow Jesus and therein lies a dilemma.  We may value their very public witness but then if they take a spiritual or moral tumble then that also gets noticed by a sceptical world.  The South African cricketer Hanse Cronje is one of several that come to mind.  So what should our response be?  As Christians our default should always be to pray.  Pray for those who name the name of Christ.  Pray for those professing Christians in the world cup that they will know God’s protection, that they will get spiritual support from mature believers around them and that they will be strengthened to live a life of integrity.

At the same time let’s be aware that in our own personal world those around us will be watching our lives more than they take notice of the life of some famous football.  So maybe we need to focus on how we can let our light shine by rubbing shoulders with a friend who doesn’t yet know the Lord.  So how about inviting one of them over to watch a World Cup game together?