AS he accepted the great honour of being named Australian of the Year, acting legend Geoffrey Rush invoked the life of the humble arachnid.
``We are the plucky country,'' was his segue.
``We're told that at any given moment we are no further than a few metres away from a spider.
(Slight pause for dramatic effect.)
``This statistic is now also true for the arts,'' he finished the gossamer thread of thought.
Rush's analogy lodged in my mind a moment and I realised that the same could be said of those who believe in God.
We are never more than a few relational links away from a person who has a personal relationship with the Almighty.
As 2011 census data is not yet available (out in June, so the website says), we look to the 2006 stats for the most up-to-date profile of Australia's religious make-up, and it goes something like this: 26 per cent Catholic, 19 per cent Anglican, 19 per cent other Christian denominations, 6 per cent non-Christian religion and 31 per cent no religion.
If my maths serves me well, that adds up to 64 per cent of the population who take shelter beneath the Christian umbrella.
Sixty-four per cent of Australians believe in God. More than six in 10 people believe that there is something more to life than the tangible.
Yet it just doesn't seem possible.
The weather app on my phone gives a forecast for each day, a ``now'' temperature, and a ``feels like'' temperature. Sometimes the current temperature is way higher than what it actually ``feels like''.
And that's how it seems with people of faith sometimes. The stats tell us something warm and wonderful, but reality leaves us cold.
Sure, the figures are likely to have altered greatly in the six years since the 2006 census, but I wonder if there is a whole swag of people who tick that box but don't reap the joyous benefits of a relationship with their maker.
In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus speaks about this (I like The Message version):
``You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.''
Yeah. Why keep good news under wraps anyhow?
The passage continues: ``If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand-shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.''
They are melodious words of encouragement to wear our faith on our sleeve, if you like. And it's not like we're alone in this.
There's God, of course, and the other five out of 10 who have been keeping their faith hush-hush.
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