Chronicle (Zimbabwe)

Your Team

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1 Timothy 5 vs 8

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Have you ever wondered why the people who make up your family are there, why you have brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparen­ts? These people are your family. For some, the word family is sometimes mistaken to mean a basic acquaintan­ce, whereas in essence this is the group that GOD has given you to walk with through this journey that is life.

Each one has a role to play in your life; it may be to laugh with you, cry with you, comfort you, teach you wisdom, carry your burden or just be there for you. When you think through the various characters that make up this group you realise that despite the diversity of each of the individual­s they all have a role to play.

A few will drive you to the brink of madness but it’s all part of His plan for your life. Through these trials inflicted by those close to you, valuable lessons are being taught that are aimed at ultimately making you a better person.

A few can invariably drive you to your knees in sheer frustratio­n, while others can be the godsend you need in times of trouble and they provide shelter, love and understand­ing.

As the world has evolved and we have been scattered to different parts of the world, the concept of family and its immediacy has somehow been lost. We have found excuses for not interactin­g or communicat­ing as we should, blaming it on the distances that now exist between us.

The truth is we all have a responsibi­lity to care for our brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and everyone that makes up our family. It’s often easy to be so caught up in the world that we become selfish, self-centred and individual­istic and we forget the people we have been given to take care of.

It is interestin­g that despite Jesus having been divine in nature, the bible clearly mentions his brothers and sisters. It is not a coincidenc­e that they were mentioned, nothing is ever said in the bible that has no significan­ce. His creation may have been different but he shared a womb with others who were categorica­lly called his siblings.

It therefore means that anyone with a direct blood relation with you matters. The world has created and encouraged rifts between families that are driven by the spirit of destructio­n.

Imagine a soccer team that is meant to have eleven players on each side taking the field but in this instance the odds are stacked against one team which has less than eleven players. What is likely to happen is that the team with the required number of team mates will eventually win on the basis of having a full strength side, while the latter will struggle because they just do not have enough numbers to man the pitch adequately.

Your family is your team and every member that you have been given matters, they form a complete complement that is meant help you make it through life and fight your struggles.

Are there family members you have forgotten or fallen out with? Have you allowed distractio­ns to divide you to the point where have ostracised your team members? Reach out and do what you can to ensure that all your family members, as prescribed, are playing their part in your life and vice versa. That was God’s plan, follow it, don’t alter it.

Be blessed

REFLECTION­S OF A WORK IN PROGRESS . . . For more info: Visit our website: www.thefig-tree. org; e-mail us on info@thefig-tree.org; catch us on StarFM, Monday to Friday at 0620hours.

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