Happy Easter from Woking Football Club

‘Christmas is important, but Easter is decisive’ (Arsene Wenger)

Today, Easter Sunday, is the day when over 2 billion Christians celebrate the hope of the Resurrection, and it’s an important time to wish all Woking fans a Happy Easter.

Arsene would obviously have been talking football here. The Christmas fixtures are important as the different leagues begin to take shape, but Easter is where so much is decided as fans bite their nails to the bone, pursuing promotion or fighting against the drop. There is always drama as last-minute goals trigger wild, passionate euphoria or deep, deep despair. Woking fans have had our fair share of both over the years – some of the highest highs but also mind-numbingly deep lows. The hope this year is that the Easter weekend will be decisive for Woking as Neal and the players’ brilliant efforts in recent months reap their deserved rewards in guaranteeing survival; then we can look forward.

For Christians around the world, the Easter weekend is the most meaningful and important time of the year. At 3pm on Good Friday, we reflect on Jesus breathing his last on the Cross with the desperate cry, ‘It is Finished!’ He took on Himself the evil and sin of the world as humanity did its worst. The sky went black, and heaven was silent – all hope died on the cross. Or did it? A few days later, as some women went to check on the heavily guarded tomb, they found it empty and were greeted with the words ‘Do not be afraid – He is not here but has risen’.

As we look around the world, we see some pretty dark stuff happening. For some of us, our own life circumstances are challenging and painful. The Easter message today is that life has meaning and, whatever the darkness, there is the ultimate hope in the resurrection. This message of hope has not only stood the test of time over 2000 years but is spreading worldwide at an unprecedented rate.

John 3:16, the oft-quoted Bible verse at sporting events, sums up this hope well.

‘God so love the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life’

So, along with you all, I am hoping for a decisive football weekend with 3 points against the Shots, guaranteeing us National League survival. Beyond that, in the bigger things of life, I am glad that we can celebrate the Greatest Story ever told.

Happy Easter and come on you Cards!
Ian