World Cup 2010 is over. But what a spectacular event it was! Never before has South Africa experienced such excitement as soccer mania swept through the country.
Dubbed as the greatest show on earth, hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the world flocked into our land. For a month the eyes of every soccer lover were on the rainbow nation. The worlds greatest players had descended on our country to fight for the honour of World Cup Champion. South Africa was on the world stage!
The opening ceremony was stunning. About 60 000 spectators waved flags from around the world, clapped and cheered wildly as they experienced a kaleidoscope of colour and sound, scent and motion. In a dazzling burst of joy, colour and noise, hundreds of African dancers in vivid greens, reds and yellows paraded onto the field.
When the national anthem was sung, fans from across the racial divide linked arms and roared with approval when their team appeared. What a privilege to be part of such a historical moment! The collective roar and blast of vuvuzelas that greeted the stunning opening goal was enough to be heard beyond our borders.
The event was full of great stories, surprises, disappointments – and certainly not without fault. But who can forget the display of amazing athleticism, individual skill and single minded determination of some of the worlds greatest players? And let us also not forget the skills, creativity, cooperation, commitment, knowledge and hard work that went on during the long, tough journey to the world cup. One newspaper reported that football fans ran out of superlatives to describe World Cup planning. With ten spectacular new or upgraded stadiums, as many new or revamped airports, hundreds of kilometres of expanded highways and city streets, and the continents first high-speed train up and running, South Africa is rightly proud of its achievement.
Humanity at its best?
Isnt it amazing what human beings can achieve? Some have even argued that in such an event humanity is seen at its best. Yet an event like this fades into a formless grey against the splendour of something infinitely greater. In fact it is something so awesome that even the angels are astonished! Is this possible? It is not only possible it has happened.
In the New Testament we find one of the most astonishing and mysterious passages in the Bible:
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 3:10)
These words express thoughts that stagger the minds ability to comprehend and appreciate. The implication is that, not only is the good news of Jesus Christ to be preached to humans – it is a message for the angels as well! But how is this possible and why? Surely the angelic realm knows everything? When stars were flung, oceans were dug and mountains erupted out of flatlands, they were there. They were also there when God created a human being fearfully and wonderfully made in body, in stature, in mind, and in soul – surely Gods wisdom in its fullest glory?
A fascinating word is used to describe the wisdom of God manifold. It means many- coloured. Just as a beautiful picture is composed of many different colours and shades, so the wisdom of God has many aspects, forms, implications, and threads. For example, we see Gods wisdom in all its rich variety in nature; two mountains or clouds or sunsets are never exactly the same. Every one of us is unique. But wait, there is more. There is something even greater and larger.
You have a new life
Before creation God had a plan (Ephesians 1:4-5). It was a plan so amazing that humans – and angels – with all their wisdom, knowledge and creativity could never have conceived. It was a plan to bring you and me and everyone into a relationship with God. This involved the Son of God becoming a human so that you could share nothing less than the life he shares with the Father and the Spirit. As a human he dealt with sin and therefore you are forgiven, accepted and adopted by God. Just like the father of the prodigal son, the Father has embraced you in his loving arms. You have a new life (Acts 5:20)! You dont have to improve first; he already loves you, in spite of your darkest sins and has already done everything needed for your salvation. Such is the great wisdom of God! He kept this a secret but now the secret is out. The mystery has been revealed. This is the best news imaginable!
Who is it that must teach this good news? The Church. What is the Church? It is not a building but a people. A multi-racial, multi-cultural people who, like a beautiful tapestry, come from a wide range of colourful backgrounds. They are a people who have said yes to Jesus. An undeserving people who have been given the privilege and responsibility to paint something so beautiful that even the angels are awestruck. It is as if the world is the stage, the followers of Christ around the world are the actors and the audience is the angels! They are the spectators of the whole drama of salvation. In 1Peter 1:12 we read about the angels longing to look into these things. It is as if they are stooping over to get a better look. These majestic, impressive, mighty beings have never seen anything like it. Gods plan is so breathtaking, so magnificent that even they – who have spent their entire existence in the presence of God – are instructed. As someone once said The history of the Christian church becomes a graduate school for angels. Such is the great wisdom of God!
An analogy will help us get a better grasp of this. When light is passed through a transparent prism (for example a glass triangle) the whiteness of the light is broken up into the colours of the rainbow. Imagine the triangle is the church. Initially, the angels had seen the whiteness but now they are seeing all of the shades of Gods wisdom in its rich variety. Without the church the angels could see the light, they could see the wisdom in general, but not the amazing variety. Gods wisdom is even greater than the angels ever imagined there are more tints and colours in it of which they never had been aware! This is so breathtaking that it had not only been hidden from humans but even from the angels! But now it is different. What should be happening in the church is far more important than we may realise!
Our motto in Grace Communion International is Living and Sharing the Gospel.
It reminds us that Jesus lives in us and that our lives are to be a reflection to others of Gods love. It is also our prayer and desire that through the pages of magazines and radio broadcasts such as Face to Face the good news will shine brightly to guide a confused, scared and sad world.
In a very real and sobering way, Christians must actually become the gospel to those around them. The obvious question is: Am I reflecting this wisdom of God? Are you? Because of Gods plan, Jesus lives in us and he has a name: Light of the World (John 8:12). Do others see it? Do others see him? Do others see us forgiving one another, patiently serving and encouraging one another? Do the angels see us depending on God and on a community of compassionate friends? Do they see us reaching out to others? South Africa welcoming people from all over the world during the World Cup provides us with a tiny picture of the generosity that God displays to everyone.
God, in his many-sided wisdom could have done it all differently. But he didnt. He has chosen to live in ordinary, imperfect people like you and me and to use us weak humans as the major expression of himself. The Church is called to be the community in which the light of Jesus Christ is allowed to shine. No church is faultless yet when the Church is functioning properly we are a light on a hill in a dark world – but not just that the entire cosmos too!
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