So England are out of the world cup.

In 1966, the world cup final was on the first day of my holiday in Scarborough. I was 4 and I watched England win against Germany. Since then it has all been down hill!

I like football. I follow the fortunes of Leeds United, Cardiff City and England. Now for the confession...I like football but it is not an obsession! I have enjoyed the world cup and I am gutted England are out but no tears were shed.

Over the years there have been many footballing heroes. George Best, Paul Gasgoigne, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney to name but a few. Today as the match was being previewed every single player, commentator, summariser, ex-pro and fan all said Rooney was the player who would make the difference, he could turn the match in England's favour, it was only a matter of time until he scored a spectacular goal. What happened? After 62 minutes after been involved in a minor scuffle, Wayne Rooney stamped in a very delicate area belonging to a memeber of the Portugal team. The referee looked on and had no choice but to red card the 20 year old. Another flag bearer for the nation side lined.

The players I mentioned earlier all carried the hopes of a nation, or at least a club, and in a fit of temper, blew it, dashing the hopes of millions. So why do we continue to build up these men, giving them titles such as saviour or messiah? We seem to have a need for heroes but they will almost certainly let us down. It could be their temper, an ill-advised comment, a life style slip or simply because they were not the people we had assumed they were.

I am reminded, not only as a result of football, but also from very hard experiences in my own life, that Jesus is the only one who will never let us down. He is for us, He loves us and we can never disappoint him because he never had any illusions about us in the first place! There is no history or evidence that He has ever let us down and I know he never will.

So as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!