In any and all of these things – no matter the standard of my play – one thing my team mates could be guaranteed is that I gave all I could. I have always worked on the theory that 95% commitment is 5% short. This even follows into my support of sporting teams. While I take an interest in national sport and being born in one country and living in another I maintain dual interests, my true love has always been at the local level. Most people know that I support the Collingwood Football Club; less people know that my true sporting devotion lies in a football team in England that I have not seen play in person for 52 years.
My love of this club is so great that each year I join with a group of expats in Sydney and Melbourne to pool some money and we buy four season tickets for seats in the main grandstand of the beautiful new stadium that we will likely not get to use!? We have asked the club to donate these seats each week for under privileged or disabled kids to use in our absence. ‘Making a Difference’ takes various forms for me.
I was reminded last night of some words of Jesus that inspired me years ago:
He put before them another parable:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." Matthew 13:31,32
Indeed those words did more than inspire me. They were the catalyst for a revival of faith among a small group of older, faith filled people who hungered to see God at work in their local community. These people were willing to pay the cost so that others might experience new hope in Christ.
One of our numbers was an elderly gentleman named Max who shared his dream with me one day. He dreamt of the day that his local church would not just be a building open for business on Sunday; but be a people of God that was taking care of business 24 hours a day seven days a week. Max died before his dream was realized and one day as we celebrated a great local gathering to open our new worship and community space, a member of the church said to me; “It’s a pity Max wasn’t here to see this.” I was able to use a quote that was not original, but fitted perfectly. I said to my friend, “He did see it, that’s why we are celebrating today.”
The first time I ever met Max was just a few days after I took up my appointment as a raw green pastor. I will always remember his words; “John, you need to know that I will probably disagree with most of the changes that you will no doubt want to make around here. You also need to know that you will have my fullest support no matter how much it rattles my cage.” Max was a 100% follower of Christ. 95% was always 5% short for him. He became the most significant mentor that I have ever had. I miss him to this day.
Years on I find myself leading another local church with just my little mustard seed of faith. Even with the seed buried and eventually we see a little shoot break through the soil a mustard tree is hardly the most impressive looking plant around. Yet if we plant in faith, people will come and find a place of shelter and safety. They may even feel secure enough to build a nest and stay a while.
We are in month two of a New Year. What are you doing with your mustard seed of faith?
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