Thought for the Day -Saturday 15 August

 

Thought for the Day – Saturday 15^th August

^‘32 “Those who declare publicly that they belong to me, I will do the same for them before my Father in heaven. ³³ But those who reject me publicly, I will reject before my Father in heaven”.’

(Matthew 10: v32-33)

 

There’s something that I have to confess, annoys me a wee bit and that’s when I see adults walking around wearing football tops.  It is particularly prevalent when holidaying abroad, especially England tops.  In this area, surprise, surprise, it’s Rangers and Celtic – not too many Motherwell, Hamilton or Airdrie tops.  I worked at an election in Harthill Community centre some time ago and over the course of the day, I reckon I saw examples of Rangers tops from the sixties right through to the present time.  In Coatbridge I estimate that you can’t walk 5 yards without encountering someone with a Celtic top.  While holidaying abroad there was one complete family who wore matching outfits each day (day 1, the home kit, day 2, the away kit, day 3, the training kit and so on – I didn’t realise this particular half of the ‘old firm’ had so many kits)  I might add that both the previous examples included females as well as males.  My observations suggest that many of the wearers of these jerseys do not have the same body shapes as the players who wear them in a professional capacity.  Hopefully this is not too much of a generalisation but it has certainly been my experience.

 

In a football capacity, what does the wearing of these jerseys tell us about the individual?  Some might see it as a threatening gesture.  Some wearers might like to be recognised as being a member of a specific group.  Some wearers might have a limited wardrobe and don’t have an alternative.  Who knows?

 

One thing I would say, possibly in their favour is that by wearing these outfits, they make it absolutely clear what side they are on.  When we attend worship, some of us will wear our best clothes, some may not but when we leave church, we can easily blend in with those who have not attended worship and I reckon the only person who does identify as a Christian is the minister.  Even some ministers prefer to ditch the dog collar these days.

 

This type of invisibility is maybe something we should consider doing something about.  Maybe we should have our own shirts that identify us as Christ followers or maybe an alternative approach.  Just remember, Jesus said that if you declare publicly that you follow him, he will do the same for you before God in heaven and, the opposite, alas, also applies.

 

 

 

Loving God,

We thank you Lord that we can be saved by believing in you.  This is not something for us to be ashamed about, it is something to celebrate and share with others.  Be with us Lord and help us not give in to the peer pressure that can cause us to be hesitant in publicly declaring that we are in your team.  Amen.