In the World Cup Football Final to be played later today, Croatia and France will clash. Let’s talk about both of these countries and learn a Biblical lesson.

With a 2-1 extra-time victory over England on Wednesday, the ‘chota’ (small) Croatians (population of Croatia is presently just 4.1 million - less than that of Chennai, Hyderabad or Surat) will attempt to become the smallest nation since Uruguay in 1950 (Uruguay’s population that year was just 2.2 million) to win the championship. France awaits Sunday (15 July 2018) at the very same venue, Luzhniki Stadium. We learn here that the fact that you are little should not make you brittle. The fact that you are small should not make you easy meat for the enemy to maul! The fact that you are tiny does not mean that the bigger-than-you enemy will have it easy! Thank you Croatia for showing us that. This reminds me of the Bible verse: “Fear not, LITTLE flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). As believers we may be a SMALL minority in a hostile-to-the-Gospel world. We ‘fear not’ for when the infinite God is with us, we are always a majority!!!

Center-back Samuel Umtiti, the French player of Cameroonian origin, was ridiculed when he inexplicably decided to handle a cross into his penalty box in France’s group game versus Australia. Australia scored off the penalty awarded following Umtiti’s handball. The score which was 1-0 in France’s favour became 1-1 and they eventually won 2-1. Paul Pogba’s 81st-minute goal saved France from a disgraceful loss in that game. In the World Cup Semi-final, France versus beautiful, brave, Belgium, the same Umtiti scored the only goal off a well-directed early second-half header to launch fast-paced, fiery France into the World Cup 2018 Final. What a graduation from a stupid hand-ball to an intelligent ‘head-ball’ for Umtiti! We may have goofed-up. We may have commited blunders. We may have done stupid things. We don’t have to continue in that stupidity and folly. Like the lost son Jesus spoke about, we can ‘come back to our senses’ (Luke 15:17) and make the ‘wise choice’ of returning to our waiting, loving Heavenly Father! Let’s not delay this, because we can’t come back to Him after death which can come at anytime (Heb. 9:27), or after the second coming of Jesus (I Thess. 5:2) or after the Holy Spirit stops speaking to stubborn, still-in-sin, us (Gen. 6:3).

- Dr. Duke Jeyaraj