Even the sand is made of seashells

Two things that i've read recently i want to share. One potentially life changing, one that made me smile and go 'hmm'...i'll you decide which one is which.

'All sports can be enjoyed for the sake of themselves, as well as with a noisy one-eyed partizanship because we want one side to win. At the World Cup we switch from one mode to the other with effortless contradiction. For three days you are a professor of football, as aesthete of the beautiful game, a scientist seeking new specimens of brilliance [Ed intejects: Torres's goal against Ukraine, Argentina Vs Ivory Coast, Cahill's brace Vs Japan] and then on the fourth day, when England play again, you become a frenzied supporter, seeing a world filled with imaginary injustices. Happy to win by any means possible untroubled by thoughts of beauty or for that matter, justice.' -Simon Barnes The Game P9 14/6.

'Not surprisingly, the New Testament does not see Christians starting with the Gospel and then graduating to higher mysteries. Whether it speaks specifically of the Gospel or of Christ, it strongly exhorts leaders to live in accordance with the Gospel, to advance its cause, to relate to other Christians in its terms and to find in it all wisdom and knowledge. Whether the problem be Judaizing Christians who try to add law to the Gospel, or the Colossian heresy with its intellectual additions, the gospel remains the standard for truth. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (Col 2:6-7)-The Revelation of God, Peter Jensen, P87 (emphasis mine)

In case you're not fully awake this morning, the second one is the important one. I'm enjoying the World Cup. I've seen all or some of every game, and with the exception of the England games enjoyed them all (not because i feel England are playing poorly, although since they're the most talented group we've had since 1970 i think there's a lot more to come, i just never really actively enjoy watching England or Wycombe play competitively...too much one eyed partizanship), but its not what life is about. The World Cup will end. My enjoyment of it is temepered by the fact that by July 10th it will be a rapidly receeding memory. The reign of Jesus will never end. There is nothing to temper our enjoyment of Him, as long as we run after Him, persue Him, and out our joy and our trust on Him. Our enjoyment of Heaven as we worship God will be infinite. It will never end. Jesus is the Gate, He is the Way. I pray i won't be distracted from the sun by looking at the bonfire...