Message from the Chaplain

Goals

Goals.  Mention that word, and most of us would probably think of either netball or one of the football codes – especially (this week) soccer, & the Matildas!  In the end, the World Cup matches are focused around goals: goals that were scored; goals that were saved; goals that seemed to be scored, but were cancelled, thanks to the referee and/or technology… 

People’s views on scoring goals can vary, though: we tend to want to see them more often in soccer; less often in rugby union or league; and as often as possible in Aussie Rules and netball!

Then there are other types of goals that apply to all of us, no matter if we like or loathe these sports.  They’re the goals that we set for ourselves, our families, our school….  But just as a goal in football is never actually a goal until the ball goes completely over or under the crossbar, and/or ‘between the sticks’, our goals in life don’t become reality until they’re achieved.

A famous story from the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games is about a Tanzanian marathon runner, John Stephen Akhwari, who badly injured himself almost halfway in the race.  Limping into the arena, well after everyone else had finished, he eventually crossed the line.  When asked why he didn’t give up much earlier, he replied, ‘My country did not send me 5,000 miles away to start the race.  They sent me 5,000 miles to finish it.’  So he struggled on to achieve that goal – for himself and his country.

What are some of the goals you want to achieve in life? Some of the goals we set ourselves may end up being unachievable – either through circumstances that we can’t control, or because other things end up being more important for us. The Bible tells us that one of the most worthwhile goals a person can have in life, is to take up God’s offer to be reconciled with Him and enjoy eternal life – described as ‘a crown that will last forever’ (1 Corinthians 9:25).  It’s a goal whose success is guaranteed - not by our own efforts, but by relying on the actions of the One who died and rose again to achieve it for us. 

Rev. Mark Rundle

Calrossy Chaplain