Over 9000!

This morning, South Leith Parish Church began the celebrations of their 400th Anniversary year. It was a great service, shared by all five Leith Churches of Scotland.

Early on in the service, the children, and congregation, were asked, "How many Wise Men were there?"

The obvious answers were, '3', '4', and 'We don't know.' The minister suggested that around 300 might have been nearer the mark, since Three Wise Men travelling with such precious gifts would be more aptly called Thee Stupid Men.

No. To keep the precious gifts safe, to travel in reasonable comfort and personal safety, someone has calculated that a group of 300 people might have been the size of the Wise Men's party.

Let's hope they didn't all descend on Mary and Joseph at once!

I was tempted to shout out 'Over 9000!' My two sons are fond of calling that out whenever a big number is needed. It is a quote from a game or TV series when someone accomplished a huge score of points. It made me chuckle to think of the Wise Men's group having 'over 9000' people in it!

These days, when people go to the maximum in their efforts to follow Jesus, they are often ridiculed for their zeal. One wonders, 'Just who are the Wise Men?'

Currently I'm watching this year's World's Strongest Man competition. It's only the qualifying heats just now. I think the Final will be shown during the next week - perhaps on Channel 5, or the Fiver channel.

It's hugely impressive, not only because the guys are huge! I weigh about 147lbs (66kg). But these guys weigh 315lbs (143). And they're lifting 300lbs () over their heads, and 800lbs (363kg) off the ground! And some of them have just finished pulling a 25 tonne truck 20m along a road!

Of course, DNA plays a part, and childhood lifestyle also plays a big part. But the biggest part is the determination of these guys to be stronger, faster, and bigger, than anyone else.

Most of them are full-time professionals, although some contenders have other full-time careers, and only compete and train for Strongest Man on a part-time basis.

How 'wise' is it to commit that amount of effort and resources to achieve this particular goal? Indeed, for any World Champion, the amount of effort and resources is usually fantastic. The payback is a combination of fame, fortune, and fun. Is it worth it? Is it Wise?

To achieve the success of becoming Top Person requires total commitment and effort. But when God calls us to follow Jesus, by loving God and our Neighbour, how can one justify the effort it requires today to try to become World Champion?

Eric Liddell, a Christian from Edinburgh, won Olympic 200m Gold after he refused to run the 100m Final because it was on a Sunday. Back in those days it was still feasible to be the Best without it consuming your entire life.

After his Olympic success Eric Liddell went to China to become a Missionary. His desire was to introduce people in China to the joy that comes from knowing and following Jesus. He died there living his life for others.

There's no way I can compete with the World's Strongest Men, or even the World's Fastest Men, such as Eric Liddell. But I am glad to be following in the footsteps of Eric Liddell as I help people to follow Jesus.

Jesus doesn't call us to be the Best, but to be our Best.

Let's go for a Maximum Score - over 9000!