From Failure to Victory

Seventy Seven years is a long time to wait.

From Fred Perry to Andy Murray, every British man who tried to win the Wimbledon tennis title failed. As Andy Murray has said, the burden of expectation was extraordinary.

But now he has won, and the long years of failure are conquered, and his victory was decisive. 

The manner of his victory was astonishing. He won in three straight sets, overwhelming the tough Djokovic, to reach the pinnacle of his present ambitions.

While the pundits will now wonder, at length, how many more time he may win major titles, this first Wimbledon victory may turn out to be the toughest. Endless failure was ended.

Faithful Jewish people from the time of King David, three thousand years ago, started looking for the King who would right all wrongs, and who would bring victory in place of successive failure. 

The Psalms and the Prophets tell us of these deep longings. 

 'He will rescue the poor when they cry to him; he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and he will rescue them.He will redeem them from oppression and violence,     for their lives are precious to him.' (Psalm 72.12-14)

Faithful people were longing for someone who would be able to bring God-inspired deliverance and victory. But for 3000 years, they waited.

So when Jesus came on the scene, with widespread heightened expectations for God's Messiah to bring change, he had to be careful in managing people's expectations. Would the time of waiting be over?

St. Paul  makes an astonishing claim. 'This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.' (Romans 1.1-4)

The Good News that Paul preached and taught focuses on the unique victory over death that Jesus achieved.

The victory over death was the decisive moment that confirms Jesus as the only One in all history who can deliver us from our slavery to death and decay.

Today, while we may still be 'coming to terms' with Andy Murray's victory, let us also reflect on a much greater victory won for us by Jesus.

Best wishes,

Richard