This is one of my favourite times of the year as a tennis fan. Wimbledon is just around the corner and we can look forward to two weeks of action on the famed grass courts of SW19. There is something magnificent about how pristine the courts are on the opening day and then slowly become worn during the tournament as player after player makes the same movements in match after match. It is one of those sporting events that tells you summer has arrived. Indeed, it is rare that we will have 13 days of uninterrupted play without rain, which is also entirely in keeping with British Summer Time.
There will be all the annual familiarity, which will no doubt include cliches such as BBC Breakfast reporting from Wimbledon early on Monday as the groundstaff make their finishing touches to the hallowed turf before play begins. As always, there will also be high hopes piled on the shoulders of British players, with US Open champion Emma Raducanu likely to receive most of the attention.
Another familiar scene, although one that you may need to pay closer attention to in order to spot its significance, is the precise, skilful and indeed swift work of Wimbledon’s ball boys and girls. In order to make the grade, these teenagers undertake hours and hours of training – and even then, only the very best get to appear on Centre and No 1 Court. With a minimum of fuss and a maximum of efficiency, the boys and girls ensure the tennis balls are always in the right place at the time. You might say that they are sustaining the play, even if we are understandably focused on the players they are serving.
The grass courts of Wimbledon are pretty impressive to look at, but no one would speak of their spectacular beauty in the way we might wax lyrical about a perfect sunset, a mountain range or a bird of prey soaring in the sky. The Bible is clear that such beauty showcases its amazing creator, God himself.
Psalm 19 puts it like this: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.”
That in itself is an incredible statement to consider. I would argue that the wonderful beauty and complexity of our world points us to the God who made it rather than a series of chance events that somehow led to life on earth in the way we experience it. What do you reckon? The Bible goes further, though, and it is here that I want to make the link with Wimbledon’s ball boys and girls.
In the New Testament, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews, says this: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
The writer says that Jesus, the Son, is sustaining all things, that is the entire universe, by his word. This does not mean his sustaining work is visible like a prop holding up your garden fence or the foundations of a house as they are being laid, but it is happening nonetheless. Wimbledon spectators probably won’t choose to spend hours and hours analysing the patterns and techniques employed by the ball boys and girls, but they know they are there and enjoy the fruits of their labour: a tidy court and a ready supply of tennis balls for the players. Their sustaining work is precise and impressive, but they will always remain in the background. They are not there for us to pay attention to.
However, if Jesus, God the Son, is sustaining the universe by his powerful word, then we surely must pay attention to him. This sustaining work may not be visible in the way that the posts hold up the Centre Court net or the struts reinforce the umpire’s chair, but the Bible is saying that Jesus is behind everything. In the language of the verse from Hebrews quoted above, whatever he says goes.
As you next consider the beauty of nature, or even the perfect green lawns of SW19 as Wimbledon gets under way, will this cause you to ask ‘what’s behind all this?’ Is the universe we live in simply continuing of its own accord or might Jesus truly be the one sustaining it all. If we take the ball boys and girls out of Wimbledon, we would either have a far more chaotic tournament or the prospect of Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek et al rummaging around in the back of court netting to find a tennis ball to serve with. But without Jesus sustaining the universe, the Bible tells us we wouldn’t have life at all.
As you enjoy the next two weeks of Wimbledon, sustained so precisely by the ball boys and girls, will you reflect on who or what sustains the world you live in? Surely it’s much more than a number of scientific constants that have come about through chance? The best way to find out about Jesus who sustains the universe by his powerful word is by reading his word in the Bible. And as I have said in previous posts, I would love to send you a free copy. Thanks for reading.
Running the Race 