For many, the World Cup is a football festival that celebrates the best and brightest from across the globe. This year with the championship being played out in Qatar, there is more than just sport that is making headlines. The desert kingdom of Qatar is the size of Sydney but has undergone a rapid transformation in recent years in preparation for the World Cup. Like Sydney, there has been the construction of a new metro train system, lots of skyscrapers, new highways, and importantly new stadiums.
While these developments look attractive and glamorous but if we move beyond the surface level, a much darker story exists. Stories reported in the media and also supported by the International Labour Organisation is that over 6,500 have lost their lives while working in the build-up to the World Cup. Unfortunately, Qatar has been ranked as the third worst country to host a World Cup when it comes to human rights and there are numerous safe working practices that we take for granted in Australia that do not exist in Qatar.
For significant parts of human history, the loss of life, oppressive conditions and injustice have been seen as just the power struggle in the normal functioning of society. But it is none other than Christianity that endows values of human dignity for all. Our modern Western principles of respect for all, concern for the poor and equality all find their roots in the Christian faith. When we think of the World Cup, we think of football but let’s not forget that it was Jesus Christ that first held the world’s cup so that He would lose His life so that we all can win the opportunity for everlasting glory with Him.
Two thousand years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is hard to live in any society that has not been impacted by Christianity. Some might say for better or for worse and many will act in the values of Christianity even without formally identifying as Christian. Church attendance is probably not an accurate reflection of how widespread the influence of Christianity is and even with the growing sentiment against traditional Christian doctrine in our modern socio-political climates, it is hard to escape the fact for those daring to investigate such, that at the root of human dignity is the message of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ has borne the cup and had His blood spilt in the conflict between life and evil. But because Jesus Christ lives, we can face tomorrow and not just only face tomorrow but have a call to action in response to injustice. With the lived experience of Jesus Christ told to us through the Gospels, it is evident that struggle is necessary but physical earthly violence was not the way to achieve it. Put simply Jesus was unique and repeatedly revolutionary in the fight against evil.
The time when Jesus Christ walked this earth was one during which the Jewish people were oppressed by the Roman Empire, a foreign power intruding on God’s chosen people. While many wanted an armed uprising to overturn Roman control, Jesus Christ led a campaign, not of pacifism nor did he turn a blind eye to the everyday struggles, but championed love, mercy, and compassion. The Kingdom of God would be heralded not through the spilling of blood from the many lives lost in warfare, but rather the world’s cup would be filled with Jesus Christ’s blood as He was crucified on the Cross.
But Jesus Christ dying on the Cross was far from the end of His campaign, in fact through His resurrection, He demonstrated that restoration of the broken lives is the start of something beautiful and joyful. Many did not understand that Jesus Christ did defeat the evil overlords of the world that oppressed God’s people including the Roman Empire of that time. However, the victory was not an earthly one but a spiritual triumph that spans into today and the everlasting.
The campaign to stand up against injustice is founded on Jesus Christ who was of no sin or shortcoming whatsoever bearing the penalty for the entire world’s evil deeds. Jesus Christ demonstrated unwavering compassion on the people of this world by offering each one of us the opportunity to have renewed lives. Hence those of us who believe in Jesus Christ and act upon His resurrection to live in light of the Cross is called to uplift the downtrodden. Providing aid and helping to mend the lives of the broken is a priceless deed that we owe to honour Jesus Christ’s victory over evil.
When one tries to define the meaning of life, it is not just about what’s living and breathing but ultimately how we as a society can extend love, mercy, and compassion to the less fortunate. Those who claim to be true followers of Jesus Christ will wholeheartedly reach out to the needy, be feeding the poor, and campaign for refugee justice just to name a few.
Ultimately true followers of Jesus Christ are committed to not just establishing physical institutions for the disadvantaged such as refuges, schools, and hospitals but will be striving to selflessly establish a new societal culture where life is valued from the womb to the tomb and beyond that to see that all may experience the love, mercy, and compassion that Jesus Christ graciously offered each one of us. We are called to live missional lives and to share this Good News through being living witnesses inspired by Jesus Christ taking the world’s cup to bear.
In our world today, despite the many advances of our Western society, compassion and mercy don’t feature as highly as they ought to. Despite our increased abilities and knowledge of other people, we continue to be surrounded by a ruthless self-centred culture that frequently neglects to care for the less fortunate. With the world’s focus primary being on making more money than on increasing the respect and human dignity for our fellow man, it is no coincidence that growing disparities in our socio-economic climate are seen alongside the increasing anti-religious agendas dominating our social discussions.
Ultimately, it is only through Jesus Christ can genuine lasting human dignity with the fullness of life be provided to all. We need to defy the godless ideologies of this world by intentionally bringing ourselves to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ in allowing His wisdom to shape our personal lives as we engage with our society. Let us rejoice in the Kingdom of God in this world that it may be demonstrated now by followers of Jesus Christ for hearts, minds, and lives to be returned toward our loving Saviour.
Roydon Ng is a Christian writer and Baptist seminary graduate from Western Sydney.
Soli Deo gloria.
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Email: roydon@roydonng.com.au
Roydon’s previous articles are available at: https://www.christiantoday.com.au/by/roydon-ng