So I'm sure loads of people will draw Christian references to the obvious rise of the underdogs that saw Havant and Waterlooville take on Liverpool in the FA cup on Saturday afternoon.
I'm sure they will, but I'm also sure there is good reason. Who could fail to be moved by the rise of this non-league side? Who could not feel their gut wrench with that young fan who burst into tears as his team scored the first goal of the encounter?
But the bit that really got me was this quote on the commentary (don't quote me exactly on this though):
"And the van driver exits the pitch to make way for the bin-man".
Such ordinary people. With ordinary jobs. Holding down an ordinary income to pay the ordinary mortgage and keep their wives/girlfriends (not wags) and kids fed and housed (in an ordinary house). Yet called, just this once, to something completely extraordinary. Called against an adversary of such higher ranking and strength. Yet they held the nation's heart for that fleeting moment. They moved forward without fear, and left with their heads held high. In their moment of truth, they gave all that they had. They also put fear in the heart of the Liverpool players, who thought they were out for a walk in the park against this ordinary non-league team. But what the nation saw wasn't ordinary, it was amazing.
Living the lives we live, it's easy to feel the drain of the ordinary drawing passion out of our lives. So many of us do the normal jobs, have a mortgage to pay, marriages to prosper, lives to maintain. But there is a calling to the extraordinary. I wonder how I would react if I was called to come face to a face with an enemy of such apparent higher strength, to play in a league way above the one my self-belief says I should be playing in. Would I move without fear? Would I attack with every ounce of strength? Would I launch into the challenges? The truth is that my calling is daily, my challenge ongoing, the opposition strong, and the prize beyond any trophies this world has to offer. How can I respond to that?
