I’m an Adelaide Crows supporter. Having just suffered our 7th consecutive defeat this season, and having watched game after error-laden, skill-less, plan-less, joyless, depressing game… I’m way beyond frustrated!…. I even had a nightmare last night… that I was beginning to think the colour teal quite fetching!!

The country, and we as the church, are beginning to make our way out of some of the COVID-19 social restrictions, and back toward how we used to meet and operate as a church family. It is clear that this is going to be a slow, drawn-out, piece-meal process, and that’s even if we don’t get a further surge of the virus through SA, which would take us backwards! If we’re not feeling frustrated by all of this at the moment, it is safe to bet that we all will be at some stage before the end of it.

Paul talks about this in Romans 8. He says that the whole of creation (that includes us!) was subjected to frustration, or futility (vv20-23). He says that it was God who subjected it to this futility, in order to lead people and the world to liberation from it, through receiving His grace and following Him. However, in order for us to come to this liberation, we first have to know and accept that only God can liberate us. We cannot do it ourselves, nor can any other person, nor any worldly power.

God is not playing games with us in this; rather, He is loving us. He proves this by the fact that He Himself fully enters into the world, as a human being, just like us, and experiences all the worst frustration and futility that can be thrown at a person, including torturous death. Why?… because that’s how much He loves us… and to liberate us forever from all that frustrates us… He may even get the Crows to a win in 2020 yet!

Grace and cheers, Jonathan