Liam Jurrah has become an exciting AFL footballer. But recent events in Alice Springs which have led to criminal charges being laid against him, have highlighted the challenge he faces to live between two cultures. In the tribal area of his birth the life and culture is totally foreign to the lives of most Australians. English is his third language.
I was thinking how being a follower of Jesus is not so different. We live in two worlds, the here and now upon earth where we live and breathe, enmeshed in the values of 21st western society. Yet at the same time we are living to the beat of a different drum. “Here we have no enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14).
The first letter of Peter calls us foreigners and exiles (2:11). Paul describes the body we live in as a tent (2 Corinthians 5:1). Jesus says the person who wants to hold on to his life will lose it, but the one who lets it go for His sake will find it.
What does it mean to live in two worlds at the same time? It means we shouldn’t get too comfortable with our lifestyle and way of life but be able to critique it; it means we can call the bluff of the advertisers and media moguls who tell us what we have to have or do to be really cool in life; it means we look for a bigger picture than what is on the surface of things; it means we have to struggle to stay faithful to the new kingdom we are part of.
For Liam Jurrah and for many of our aboriginal communities there are still many issues to work through in regard to living in two lands at the same time. Likewise for us.
What does it mean for you at this time to stay faithful to Jesus? Where are the tension points for you right now? Who might help and encourage you on your journey?