It seems to me that humans are obsessed with keeping score. Whether it is Gen Z tracking social media metrics, or older generations measuring career and/or family success, we all carry an exhausting mental tally of our mistakes, anxieties, and lost opportunities – as well as our wins of course. But it is the ‘fails’ that I’d like to apply the lens of Romans 8:1 in light of this week’s spectacular win by The Australian Women’s Cricket Team. Yes, this is theology using the all-important Aussie sporting lens!

This week the Australian Women’s Cricket Team secured their seventh T20 World Cup title at Lord’s. While facing England, the Aussies chased down 151 runs with absolute, uninhibited freedom. They did not achieve victory by walking onto the pitch paralysed by the fear of making a mistake, or by panicking over past dropped catches. They played with a freedom that allowed them to pull off the highest successful run chase in a World Cup final. Who doesn’t love a great Aussie victory?!

It is this shift from fear to freedom that mirrors the spiritual liberation found in Romans 8:1.

“No condemnation” means the existential scoreboard has been permanently smashed. God is not sitting on the sidelines like a disappointed coach tracking our errors, or tut-tutting when we make mistakes.

For Gen Z: In a “cancel culture” where mistakes are permanently recorded online, God clears the cache and deletes the history. For Older Generations: It declares that human worth in God’s eyes, is entirely detached from productivity or maintaining a ‘perfect’ public appearance.

The Apostle Paul argues that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now makes a home inside our actual, messy, ‘imperfect’ lives. This presence does not require a spotless environment; it meets us directly within our daily chaos. The Spirit of God breathes life into us; intercedes in prayer for us and others when we don’t have the words or capacity to pray; and brings peace to our worried lives.

By letting go of yesterday’s ‘dropped catches’, we can step onto the field of our lives with genuine confidence, knowing we are on the same team and covered by the grace of God that has already settled the score, shown to us through Jesus Christ and alive in us by the Holy Spirit.

A blessing for you from the lyrics of a song:

May the peace of God our heavenly Father, and the grace of Christ the risen Son, and the fellowship of God the Spirit Keep our hearts and minds within His love.

Blessings — Rev. Carmel Sheraton