Called On Account of Darkness

by Lynn Anderson

    Recently NPR carried a brief blurb about a soccer game that never happened! Seems two soccer teams in Brazil met for an afternoon match. But an argument broke out over which team would get which bench. By the time they settled the argument, darkness had settled over the field. So the authorities called off the game. Seems that Brazil is facing a major power shortage. And since field lights drain away mega-watts, the Brazilian government has halted night soccer games. So that game never happened.

    How human! Selfish human preferences thwarting larger purposes. National progress neutralized by partisan politics in Washington. Israelis and Palestinians both demand their own rights, resulting in neither rights nor peace for either side.

    Surely not among Christians!

Contemporary vs. traditional worship styles.
Maintaining the past vs. shaping a future.
Orthodoxy vs. Relevance.
Male dominance vs. feminism.
Pre-millenial vs. post-millenial vs. a-millenial.

My way or the highway over this and that. On and on. While God's central mission gets shoved to the margins. Lost people stay lost. Saved people don't grow. Injustice grinds on. The community of faith does not gel and mature. God is not glorified. And time passes swiftly. Opportunities slip away. Doors close. Jesus' mission is thwarted.

    Will darkness settle in before the game gets played?

    What difference did it make who got which bench? They came to play soccer.

    What difference whose preferences win? We came to Glorify God.

    These times call for Christ-following, people-serving, mission-fulfilling, God-glorifying, believers. Folks willing to "each consider others better them themselves" and who "look not only to their own interests, but to the interest of others." For folks to "think on" these positive things in each other. (See Philippians 2 & 4) Each believer can, as Michelangelo would say, "criticize by creating something beautiful."

    Seems like I read somewhere, "We must work the works of him that sent us while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work." You can choose where you want your team to sit, we came to play the game, so let's go!

Posted: 06/27/2001
URL: http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200106/20010627_darkness.html

(C) 2001, Lynn Anderson <lynn@ont.com>, <http://www.lynnanderson.org/>. Used by permission.

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