Wanted: A Superman who doesn’t fail

Pete Evans | 17:51, Tuesday, 18 October 2011

You cannot come closer to being in a World Cup Final than Wales did on Saturday morning. Hooky missed a sitter. Stephen Jones hit the post. Halfpenny dropped one short by less than a meter (surely I was not the only one celebrating in my living room only to have my hopes cruelly denied).

And of course, there was Sam.

Over the past few weeks our captain has been nothing short of heroic. The bone-crunching tackles, the countless turn-overs, the ball carrying, not to mention the fact that he has demonstrated himself to be a man of utmost integrity and good character both on and off the pitch (take a long, hard look at yourselves England…)

So it was with hushed disbelief that a nation watched as Warburton dumped Vincent Clerc on his head after 18 minutes and Alain Rolland (does he want to sound any more French?!) stuck to the letter of the law. Red card. Wales were one superman short.

What followed was a demonstration of unbelievable fitness, team spirit and bravery, punctuated with a moment of magic from Mike 'The Ego' Phillips. But all to no avail. Final score: Wales 8-9 France.

Rugby in Wales is more a religion than a sport. And so, as their heroes fell short, 3 million people munched their cornflakes in despair.

Will we ever find anyone who won’t eventually fail us? Or is reading comics the only solace for the perpetually disappointed?

Colossians 2:13-15 says;

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

The Bible is the (true) story of a spiritually dead humanity who need a saviour. If left as we are, we will be punished for the sinful way we treat God. So Jesus came, the hero who didn’t fail, and never will. At the cross, Jesus removed any accusation against us by paying the price for our sin, dying in our place if we trust Him. The cross, and the empty tomb 3 days later, are the ultimate scenes of triumph for the superman who never fails.

Wales will get another chance in 4 years. Let’s be honest, they’ll probably fail again. But the love of God through the cross of Jesus NEVER fails those who put their trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sins. And that is why we love Him.

(If you would like to know more about Highfields’ Pontprennau Congregation, or if you have any questions about what it means to trust in Jesus, please get in touch with Pete at: pete.evans@highfieldschurch.org.uk)