I teach Christian Education, and part of my job is to visit the churches who support my colleague and I. Tonight, my colleague is visiting Oatley Uniting, one of these churches, but I have been unable to join her as my husband is currently at a different place of worship; Telstra Stadium at Homebush.
I was so moved by the glorious Wallabies victory last night. It got me thinking about the parallels between what the Wallabies have faced this week and what the follower of Jesus can face in their daily life. Thus I penned this epistle to the church in Oatley, who share my love of Jesus and of Rugby (as you may have read in Column 8, they had last night’s game on a big screen; advertised with a sign reading, “Australia v All Blacks. Sounds like David and Goliath. But who won that one?").
Jeannine Baird
The Parable of the Wallabies
To my dear fellow Wallabies fans at Oatley Uniting,
I have heard of your faith from our brother Stuart, and it has been attested to in Column 8. I have been encouraged by your love for those around you who wander lost, like sheep without a shepherd; like so many All-Blacks supporters this morning. You long for them to know the hope to which they have been called; a relationship with Jesus. May God bless your outreach and bring people into His Kingdom through your efforts.
I know of your struggles; how you long for others to submit their lives to God’s Word and groan inwardly with the desire to see this happen. I pray that the Lord will bless you for your faithfulness to his Word, both in proclaiming it and in living it out, and that others will see how it contains not only the words of eternal life, but words on how to have the best life, here and now, if we submit our lives completely to God and trust he knows what’s best. I pray that you may all know the depths of God’s love, and that you will trust him in every area of your lives and try to follow his guidelines in the Scriptures.
I cannot be with you tonight, though I long to be, as my husband has been truly blessed. He has received a free ticket to the France vs England Semi-Final tonight, and therefore I will have to stay and care for our daughter, Grace. However my partner in the Gospel, Jaime Simpson, will be with you. I know that she will share our love for the Penshurst Girls’ with you, and pray that you will celebrate with us what God is doing in the hearts of many at the school.
I, like you, have watched copious amounts of Rugby over recent years, and a great deal over the last month. There have been suggestions made by many that the current Wallabies line-up is not adequate for the task of retaining the William Webb-Ellis Trophy. Indeed, despite our remarkable defeat of Namibia (which was, let’s face it, embarrassing to witness), our beloved team has not been performing as well as we would like. The nation despaired as we went into the match against the All-Blacks last night. It seemed beyond us. The media, and even those who had dwelt amongst them in the past, have hurled abuse at players, captain and coach. It was also suggested that recent converts were not fit to perform the great task they had ahead of them.
I admit that I also lacked faith. It seemed impossible that the Wallabies could defeat New Zealand last night. In my desperation, I cried out, “Lord, please let the Wallabies win tonight. But not my will, but yours be done.” Though the desire of my heart was to witness a green and gold victory, I needed to steel my resolve to trust the purposes of God, and accept that his plans and purposes are greater than my own.
Whilst I dare not suggest that God has some divine purpose in an Aussie victory, or that we should pray, “Lord, please don’t take this cup from us”, I will draw some parallels between the Wallabies’ experience and that of the Christian’s.
The Wallabies can teach us great things about the importance of being assured. Though everyone; media, former Wallabies, and die-hard fans, believed it was inevitable that the Wallabies should fail, they did not. George Gregan, it was suggested, should be dropped. Eddie Jones can’t coach. They are nothing like the captain, team and coach who brought back Bill in ’99. Some, with a little faith, suggested that the Wallabies game plan had been leading up to facing the All-Blacks; the lack of apparent line-out preparation, for example, suggesting that Jones’ tactic was to concentrate on the skills required for a semi face-off with the ‘Blacks, rather than a week to week approach of making sure they played outstanding Rugby against all previous opponents.
Whatever their tactics, it is clear that the Wallabies had one thing going for them; faith! They believed that they could do it. They believed in their coach. Gregan believed in his ability as captain. The League-ies believed they could maintain ball-control when it was necessary. The forwards believed they could get to the break-down, clear out rucks, contest line-outs, and maintain possession phase after phase after phase. Cannon and Paul believed they could throw in straight! May the nation of doubting Thomas’ now declare, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!” The faith of the Wallabies in their own abilities, despite the lack of faith from all others, was what powered their game and led them to victory.
The Christian must do likewise. Though others doubt them, bag them, or even turn against us, we must believe. We need to make sure that we are assured based on what the Bible says about why we are saved. There will be times in the Christian’s life when people say to us, “You aren’t a real Christian because you’ve done …” At those times, we need to look at the facts so that we don’t waver from the truth.
The fact is we are saved, not by our own actions in the past, present, or future. We are saved by the grace of God alone, not by works. If the Wallabies had looked at their current performances, rather than the facts of who they are, then they may have failed. However, they looked at the facts. They have won the World Cup in the past. They have beaten New Zealand in the past. They are the world’s best side. They may not have seemed like they are the best, based on recent efforts, but that does not change the reality. They ARE the best team. They had to believe in that fact, so that they could play like the best team. The Christian must do likewise. Our salvation is not based on current efforts, but on what Jesus did for us “whilst we were still sinners”. We cannot believe those who make us doubt this. We must look at the facts. We must look at the Bible.
Similarly, George Gregan and Eddie Jones needed to not worry about what others were saying. They needed to trust in their abilities. Jones trained the current team, based on the skills they possess. He knows his players and has planned a training regime for them to achieve their best. We could have recalled Rod MacQueen, but he doesn’t know the current players as Eddie knows them. Campo and Farr-Jones may think they could do better, but they played with different teams, under different coaches, against different teams, in different eras. If the current 22 began to waver, because people outside the camp made them doubt, then they would not have approached the game with the assurance and determination they showed.
Similarly, Christians often get bagged by other Christians. They get attacked, as the Wallabies have, by those who should be our greatest source of support, because they’ve been in the same boat. However, they are made to feel like failures do to the criticism they face. Statements like, “Back in my day…”, or “I wouldn’t do things that way”, or undermining the ministry of others through public criticism, can cripple ministry. As those who criticised the Wallabies should repent, so should you if you are bagging other people’s ministry. You may have done things differently, and with success, in the same role in the past, but God is sovereign and places people in the roles he wants them in. Criticism based on style differences doesn’t help. If the person currently in that role is being obedient to God, God will work through that person to grow his Kingdom.
If we being bagged by others, but are certain we are honouring God by conforming to his Word in our methods, then we need to steel our resolve and not let the criticism undermine our confidence. If the Wallabies had believed their critics, they would not have played with such steely defence. We too need to stand our ground on issues for which we are criticised, when we know we are being obedient to God’s word.
There are those amongst us who are armchair critics, who attack the players, but have never had the ability or the determination to get out on the paddock themselves. Those in the game shouldn’t let criticism from the sideline affect them if they are assured. Check your Bible and pray, and if you are certain you are following God’s will, press on. If not, assess the criticism and check the Bible’s teaching, and get in line with it. In the end, always be assured by the fact that you have had the gifts, leading by God’s Spirit and the motivation to get involved in training and recruiting others for the real “game they play in heaven”, and don’t allow the armchair critics to undermine your “Stirling” efforts to get others across the line.
So, my most excellent Wallabies supporter and partner in the gospel of Christ, let us press on in this tournament far more exciting that the Rugby World Cup, to attain the goal of our faith; the cup that will last longer than the Webb-Ellis trophy, the crown of glory more beautiful than Bill’s lid on Dan Crowley’s head in ’99, and the post-game celebration that lasts for eternity. Be assured! God has won through Christ! Nothing can take it away. Keep training hard and trusting Jesus to give you the strength to endure all the rucks, mauls and occasional eye-gouges of our spiritual battles.
We are powered by someone more powerful than Energex and replenished by someone far better than Gatorade; the Holy Spirit. Victory is ours! Look at the facts; what the Bible tells us about how and why we are saved, and how God works through people the win others to Christ. Keep training and playing the game, despite the opposition on or off the paddock. Be assured!
Go, you good thing!
Jeannine Baird.
Christian Education Teacher,
Penshurst Girls’ High School.
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