Blog: Feel it. It is here.
Written by Cori Wielenga
As we move towards the semi-finals of the World Cup, I thought it about time I blog about my own experiences. It has been incredible being in South Africa as we host the soccer. Feel it, it is here! is the official slogan that we hear repeated on our TVs during every game. And it has been a great feeling! Some of my highlights so far include watching the opening ceremony at a friends’ house, watching Bafana beat France at Arbreu’s coffee shop at the Wonderboom Junction (which has the best coffee I have ever tasted) and attending the USA-Algeria game at the Loftus stadium in Pretoria. Apart from this, I love hearing foreign accents in shopping centres, listening to everyone’s stories of their fan park or stadium experiences and picking up the general vibe of joy and excitement.
A couple of Sundays ago I visited the church 3rd Place, where Pierre du Plessis used the theme 'feel it, it is here' in talking about the kingdom of heaven. As he described how the Kingdom is here and now, I felt the same excitement I've been feeling about the World Cup. That connection between strangers as you sit in a restaurant shouting for the same team, the energy in the street on vuvuzela day (when everyone paraded through the streets blowing their vuvuzelas prior to the tournament beginning), the inexplicable deep feeling within you of something good and meaningful taking place that completely transcends the competition on the field or even national and international politics.
I had the same sense with the Kingdom of God. It felt to me it had less to do with the man-made kingdoms of church denominations, rules, doctrine and competition, and more to do with some inexplicable knowing deep inside that something good and meaningful is happening that transcends all the muck in the world. And this knowing leads to meaningful action. Every time there is compassion, healing, hope, love, faith, then the kingdom has arrived.
There is nothing like being in South Africa this June and July. The vibe and energy is indescribable. The sense that we are pulling this off against all odds, when just sixteen years ago we were coming out of Apartheid, is phenomenal. There is similarly nothing like being part of the kingdom of heaven, where hope and meaning persist against all odds. Where God's plan for this world is being pulled off even though it may not always seem that way. I'm thrilled to be in the host country during the Soccer World Cup. And I'm more thrilled to live everyday in the kingdom of heaven, where life takes on greater significance on a daily basis.
