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Far as the Curse is Found
“He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’”
Luke 4:16-19
When I was growing up, I had the privilege of training under a renowned soccer coach from the Netherlands who impressed upon me a particular style of play. If you don’t know much about soccer, the Netherlands is the home of “Total Football” (or “Total Soccer”). The idea is simple, yet revolutionary. “Total” means that each player on the field can play any position. A defender can attack and attackers can defend and so forth. Teams adopting this approach often rotate players to various positions on the field, confusing opponents. In addition, Total Football also takes a holistic approach to the game. It lays stress on the physical aspect (speed, quickness, endurance), the tactical aspect (formations and movement), the technical aspect (dribbling, passing, and shooting) and the psychological aspect (mental toughness and attitude) of each player. Taken together, this compressive approach to the game has helped form well-rounded and highly competitive teams. So much so that it has revolutionized the game of soccer and helped the small country of the Netherlands reach back-to-back World Cup finals in the 1970s.
The comprehensive nature of Total Football reminds me of Christ’s all-encompassing work of salvation. In Luke 4, when Jesus preached in the synagogue, He highlighted the complete and total nature of the Gospel. Jesus said that His message was good news not just to Israel, but also “to the poor” (an economic aspect to salvation), “to the captives” (a psychological aspect to salvation), “to the blind” (a physical aspect to salvation) and “to the oppressed” (a liberating aspect to salvation).
In short, Christ’s work is cosmic in scope. It applies to every sphere of life. To borrow from Isaac Watt’s well-known line, Jesus came “to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found.”[1]
The good news for us is that God cares for us holistically. He cares not only for the salvation of our souls but also for every aspect of our life. So, whatever it is that might be causing you pain, sorrow or frustration today, I implore you to turn that thing over to God. In Christ, you will find the abundant flow of God’s blessing, wherever “the curse is found.”
[1] Isaac Watts, “Joy to the World.”
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