Rugby World Cup Fever

Pass it on

From Rugby World Cup kick-off on 9 September until the final siren sounds on 23 October, many of us will be living, breathing and arguing rugby. But if you’re a player or supporter of any sporting code, how did you first get into the game?

For most of us, our love for sports is nurtured through the enthusiasm of others. At the start, we glimpse the joy of any sport through the eyes of someone else, perhaps a parent or other family member, a friend, a teacher, or a coach from the community. If we’re a player, these people help us develop the discipline and skills we need to play well and enjoy that sport.
 
Sometimes we’re taken by surprise in our sporting passions. I remember going along to my first Australian Rules Football match in Adelaide, South Australia, with my husband-to-be. Until then, I’d shared the largely negative Kiwi take on this weird-looking game: guys in too-tight shorts chasing a ball around an oval field, sometimes kicking, sometimes handballing, and with a ‘choice’ of scoring opportunities at the other end. And yet, week in, week out, as Keith and I watched game after game, my enthusiasm for this unique brand of footy grew. All the negative stereotypes faded as the truth took hold: this was a great game played by some phenomenal athletes!

My point is, I wouldn’t have had even the slightest interest in Aussie Rules were it not that I fell in love with a fan. My husband, who eventually crossed the ditch to live in New Zealand (spurred by love for me, I do believe!) has similarly embraced rugby, which wasn’t part of his sporting heritage. In sports, as in all things, relationship is what leads us to commitment.

I wonder if those of us who are Christians grasp the huge impact our enthusiasm (or lack of enthusiasm) for Jesus and church life has on those with whom we work and socialise. Through these relationships, commitment can and does come. So cheer for your team during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, sure, but make sure that in everyday life you’re cheering for God consistently and with the greatest of exuberance!

Major Christina Tyson

Bible Verse

2 Timothy 1:7 - New King James Version
‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’

2 Timoti 1:7
‘Kāhore hoki i hōmai e te Atua ki a tātou te wairua o te wehi; engari tō te kaha, tō te aroha, tō te ngākau mahara.’