The weak help the strong

JUAN AGUILERA was a Spanish tennis player who went through some difficult times.

He was 7th in the world rankings in 1984, yet two years later was ranked at a little lower than 300. Both physical troubles and the death of close family members had had a negative influence on his play.

Another tennis player MARTIN JAITE, often invited him to his house in Buenos Aires, and for many years was an encouragement to Juan.

When, in 1990, Aguilera made a come-back and won a tournament, (gaining a place in the top 20 players of the world) he gave his friend Martín a big hug.

Friendship, help and gratitude seem to be words that always go together.

Although there is never an exact balance between giving and receiving, it is certain that one of the rules of friendship is to always be concerned for one another, to help and to appreciate the other.

We read a story in the Bible that tells us something of this. The tribe of Judah (one of the twelve tribes of Israel) was the strongest at that time, and the tribe of Simeon had lost many men in their first battles.

Judah could have fought their own battles perfectly well on their own, their military power was great... but they invited the tribe of Simeon to join with them.

A lesson that we should learn is that the weak can help the strong. Judah did not need the help of Simeon, but the tribe decided to share its glory with the weaker party.

When they returned triumphant from the battle field the people exclaimed, Judah and Simeon have fought and have won.

How good it is to share our glory with our brothers!

When God tells us in the Bible about his church, He likens it to various things, but two of them call for our attention here; a body and a building.

God teaches us that when we receive Christ into our lives, we automatically become part of his church, and gain thousands of 'brothers' and 'sisters' in our spiritual family around the world.

It does not make sense that we should fight against our own family; it is beyond understanding that we would destroy a building of which we form a part.

What is the reason then for the fights amongst ourselves? I think there is only one response: sometimes the only thing that we are interested in is our own glory.

So friendship, encouragement, and gratitude are words that should go together... within the church especially.

God's church is formed by members of one body, the body of Christ. God's church is formed by bricks into one building, God's building.