Gone down in history

Who won the FA cup in 1962? Or who won the English Division 1 in 1949? I suspect that, like me, most of you don’t know the answers to these questions. I suppose you could search for the answers on the internet but why bother? After all, they were events that occurred so long ago. And they seem so unimportant now don’t they?

But I suspect they weren’t insignificant events at the time. This would be particularly true if it was your team that won. It would have given you bragging rights and topics of conversation for the next few years.

I wonder if Liverpool fans will feel the same about the 2018/19 season. So close to their first league title in more 25 years and yet just missing out at the time. I couldn’t help but feel at the time that they had missed their chance. When would the next chance come along? Of course at the time there was so much disappointment and regret.

But I would confidentally guess that in 50 years no-one will remember about the year Liverpool almost won the Premier League. Perhaps some will nostalgically talk about it to grandchildren but in all likelihood there will be other stories to discuss and debates to be had.

This reminded me of something Jesus once said. He said “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Luke 21:33). Many things in life come and go. Sporting teams rise and fall. Celebrities and political parties drop in and out of popularity. But Jesus reminded his listeners that although kingdoms come and go, His words will never pass away. That’s reflected in the fact that the Bible is still such a popular best selling book. So do you take the words of Jesus seriously? Have you ever taken time to read them and think about what they have to say to you?

Jesus’ words are relevant to all of us. They tell us about the inner workings of our heart and our decision to ignore God and leave Him out of our lives. They tell us about how we have chased after pleasure instead of after God. But remarkably they tell us about how Jesus had come to rescue us. They tell us that Jesus reveals to us just how much God loves us and cares about us.

Jesus’ words tell us that He had come to give His life as a sacrifice in our place, to take on Himself the consequences of our wrongdoings. They tell us that God offers to forgive you and me if we will accept his death in our place and turn to Jesus Christ instead of ourselves for forgiveness, for happiness and for eternal security.

It’s a good thing then that Jesus’ words don’t pass away. This means that they are still available for us today. Will you listen to them? At the end of the day it’s probably no big deal that Liverpool had a near title miss and it’s no loss that this will pass away. But the message of Jesus Christ is so different. How will you respond to it?

There is a verse in the Bible written hundreds of years before Jesus was born that seems to describe the attitude of Jesus’ enemies towards Him. Psalm 41:5 says “When will he die and his name perish”. Many of the people opposed to Jesus wanted nothing more than for Him to die and be forgotten about. Why? So that they could ignore His message and go back to living their lives.

Maybe you share that sentiment? Maybe you would prefer to forget about Jesus and go on with your life? But the fact is that He isn’t going to go away. He won’t be forgotten about over time. We can’t afford to ignore Him and the things He said. And frankly, we shouldn’t want to. After all, as one of His disciples said, “You have the words of eternal life”. Why would you pass up the chance to explore the words of Jesus and listen to His message of eternal life?