bound by love | simba:samuel:john

love must be sincere. hate what is evil; cling to what is good. be devoted to one another in brotherly love. honor one another above yourselves. never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. share with God's people who are in need. practice hospitality.

romans 12:9-13

these brothers are not south african. they are zimbabweans, forced to move away from their homes, away from their families, their wives, their children....to collect the crumbs from under the south african table. their own country devastated by greed and corruption, they must work here in order to provide even a little for their families. and yet...these men are not held back by the potential of discouragement or injustice.

and they have every opportunity to be discouraged.

but they refuse to be trampled...to be overcome. they have something greater that has overcome that which fights against them. 

they understand the power of the Gospel.

they understand the strength that lies in community...in sharing brotherly love.

these brothers are mighty men of God...zealous for his kingdom and unwilling to compromise who they are in Jesus in order to gain worldly wealth or power. 

to be pitied is not their desire. instead, growing in spiritual fervor, they pray night and day for the reconciliation they have discovered in their own lives to be realized in their country. 

and so, in spite of their own affliction, these brothers pursue the Light of the Kingdom of God. meeting together daily...encouraging one another and others, and holding on to the hope they posess, expecting that this kingdom will reach their own country. because they understand...they know...what has been promised.

they know that the kingdom of God is space made for reconciliation.

and so they live with expectancy...believing that one day they will be reunited with their families and reconciliation will come to zimbabwe.