Getting Ready for the Big Day

A Huge Brazilian flag hangs outside IBB in Curitiba as "The Cup" is not only in the country- but also in town: )

On Tuesday October 30, 2007- FIFA awarded Brazil with the 2014’ World Cup. And, from that day forward, preparations for one of the biggest events in the world began. The people of Brazil began building, spending their money, preparing and strategizing for how they would accommodate the massive amounts of people who would convene upon their country for this ‘one-month-long-event’ that was promised to take place.

As an American I never realized what a big deal The World Cup really was until we moved here to Brazil. I know that over the last 10 years or so soccer has caught some traction in the US (as far as being more popular) but it still pales in comparison to football, basketball and baseball- as far as popularity goes. But, outside the US, soccer (the other football, haha) is a BIG deal, for sure. I mean, people are serious about it. And the World Cup?... from a worldwide perspective- it’s even more of a big deal than the Super Bowl! 

MJ and I drove to town to buy groceries the other day (one week before the first ‘official’ World Cup match) and as we were trying to make our way into the store we could barely get in because of the huge bottle-neck of people at the entrance. But it wasn’t difficult getting in because everyone was trying to buy groceries- it was crowded because they had decided to set-up a projector/screen right inside the front door so that shoppers could watch some kind of pre-World Cup game. And that day there was some type of ‘friendly game’ going on and Brazil was playing. So everyone was standing there watching. 

It was an awesome idea if you wanted to see the game but a horrible idea if you were actually wanting to get inside and buy groceries. And, as the owner of the grocery store,  if you were trying to make it easy for customers to get into your establishment and spend money- you couldn’t have picked a worse spot to show the game. But that’s just my American thinking kicking in. Everything is suppose to be efficient and easy for the consumer, right? But here in Brazil it’s different. And right now it’s all about the World Cup.

After we left the grocery store we stopped at the drugstore to buy a few things before heading back to the mountain. And, as we walked in, we could hear the same game that  was showing at the grocery store blaring from a small television there inside the drugstore as well. And all the pharmacists were wearing these sequined covered fedoras (Brazil colors, of course) and there were Brazil colored streamers hanging everywhere. It was a literal party atmosphere at the pharmacy. Haha! This is World Cup thing is serious: )

Weeks before the first game it seemed like everywhere you looked there were Brazil flags flying. In the stores, on houses, on cars, even at the little open-air bar here on the mountain you could see dozens of Brazilian flags draped along the outside of the building as everyone was waiting in anxious anticipation for the big day.

Brazilian colors flying proudly at "Paulo's Bar" here in the jungles of Brazil. 

We’re into the second week of games now and things are definitely different. Here in Brazil, whenever the Brazilian Team plays everything shuts down. Schools are closed, businesses close, employers let their employees off work 2 hours before the game and then it’s like a national holiday as everyone goes somewhere to watch the game. It’s something that, if you’re a Brazilian, you’ve got to see. You’ve got to be a part of it. I was driving through Curitiba during rush hour this past Tuesday afternoon during the Brazil game and it was eerily quiet. There was literally no traffic, no people, no movement anywhere. It’s like the rapture had taken place and I had been left behind! lol!

Hundreds of people gathering at Igreja Batista do Bacacheri to watch the games
on the big screens in the sanctuary last Tuesday afternoon 

At 4:45pm these roads are typically bumper-to-bumper with traffic but when
Brazil is playing it's a virtual ghost town. Crazy, huh?

And as I sit here thinking about all that I’ve witnessed over the last couple of years (as everyone was getting ready for the World Cup)- everything from stadiums being built- to host cities making preparations for hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world- to restaurants, hotels and businesses making adjustments to prices and upgrading accommodations- there’s one thing sticks out in my mind and it’s a question that I think I need to ask myself... “what would it look like if, as a christian, I had the same eager anticipation for the return of Christ as the brazilian people have had for the World Cup?” No, seriously. I’m not trying to be hyper-spiritual (and I apologize for the ‘Jesus Juke’) but really... what would happen if I was that excited, invested, focused, intentional, anticipative and zeroed-in on ‘that day’ as brazilians (and people from other countries as well) have been for a month long soccer event? It’s definitely something to think about.

Because if I’m really anticipating something as big as the return of Christ- my life should reflect it. How I plan, how I invest, how I spend my money... my level of anticipation should be so high that it’s all I desire and long for, right? Or at least it should be.

But the problem is that I get so caught up in the minutia of life that I tend to forget. Even though I’m busy serving Him and doing what He’s called me to do I lose sight of the fact that He could return at any time. So am I ready? Am I busy preparing for ‘that day’ or am I just treading water trying to survive today?... Lord, please help me remember and help me remain in eager anticipation of ‘that day.’

What about you? Have you forgotten that He is returning? Are you busy preparing for that day or have you lost focus? His promises are true He promised us that one day He will return. So get ready: )

“... be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you don’t expect.”

                     Matthew 24:44

Looking for His Return,

Jim