I went to London last week. The train stopped in Reading and a man got on and sat across the aisle from me. We got talking. He was going to Liverpool to watch Everton play (he had a hospitality package including lunch before the 12:30 kick off). As he left the train I said something about ‘success’ and ‘Everton’.
It was only afterwards I remembered that someone at Shaw Church is a Chelsea supporter, so maybe I really wanted Chelsea to win (they did).
This chap was more invested in Everton than I’ll ever be invested in my team (after the summer scandal, I’ll mention no names), but football is an example of how we latch on to, and loyally support something outside of ourselves. But what makes you a support of one teams over another?
Perhaps we could describe Christians as ‘Jesus supporters’ – we have chosen to be on his side against all others. But what does that actually mean? The passage this week begins “This is how we know …” and it raises some important questions about conscience, obedience, faith, and love. But above all, John tells us that “We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” (1 John 2:24)
Raymond Obin