In less than 24 hours I experienced two things that I never tried before in my life – Paintball and Rock Climbing. They cost quite some pennies as being a sponsored student, but they were totally worth to try. Both were fun. The first was indeed paint-full and painful. The armour that we wore was really disgusting due to improper clean-up after being worn by previous players. There were missions to complete, men to hunt down, protect your runner, obey your commander, hit down the target and storm across the enemy defence. The second was challenging. I came to realize that I won’t be good in everything. It requires high level of fitness and physical strength, not to forget the appropriate gear and technique. There were lessons to be learned. 
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
In rock climbing, there must be a pair working together. One holds the rope as the other climbs. Trust is meant to be built. It works mutually. Two are better than one. We can’t live alone or else we will go crazy! Can you imagine yourself being the last man on the earth? In fact, the bible teaches us precious life lessons. For example, lets look at the structure of a football team. There must be a manager, strikers, midfielders, defenders, goalkeeper, and even the substitute players. Without strikers, the team will lose the striking force. Without midfielders the team will not be able to advance. Without defenders the team will be vulnerable to concede goals. Without a manager the team will be disorganized. To be more specific, every player has different abilities and skills. Some are right footed; some are left footed. The existence of everyone is important. Everyone has a role to play. When everyone contributes what they possess, they team is intimidating. When a player is sent off, the team is weakened.
Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension. Therefore, reinforcement with steel mesh or fibre is often applied in construction. Deformed bars or fabric gives 10% more strength than smooth bars. Different types of reinforcement contribute to different degree of the ultimate concrete strength. Concrete reinforcement allows the building to withstand greater force. When there is no reinforcement, the concrete cracks and breaks easily. Composite materials are engineered materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct on a macroscopic level within the finished structure. The different materials work together to give the composite unique properties. The greatest advantage of composite materials is strength and stiffness combined with lightness. By choosing an appropriate combination of reinforcement and matrix material, manufacturers can produce properties that exactly fit the requirements for a particular structure for a particular purpose. In short, when each substance brings their unique property together, they form a body that has much better properties.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Apostle Paul advised the Thessalonians to assist each other and to stay knitted. When Paul wrote the letters to the Thessalonians, he was on his first missionary journey. The majority of modern scholars believe Paul wrote this letter from Corinth, although information appended to this work in many early manuscripts (e.g. Codices Alexandrinus, Mosquensis, and Angelicus) state that Paul wrote it in Athens after Timothy had returned from Macedonia, with news of the state of the church in Thessalonica (Acts 18:1-5; 1 Thes. 3:6)
Take a look at the mortar brick. Bricks are arranged in different course. It can be a soldier course, a stretcher bond, a Flemish bond, an English bond and etc. Different bond has different arrangement. But every bond needs mortar to bind the bricks together and to provide strength to the whole brickwork. Lets imagine the bricks represent us while the mortar represents God. We are meant to be knitted together in Christ. Rick Warren in his book The Purpose Driven Life says that we are all formed for God’s family. The entire Bible is the story of God building a family who will love him, honour him, and reign with him forever. Because God is love, he treasures relationships. A family doesn’t exist if there is no occurrence of relationships among the members. Bear in mind that our spiritual family is even more important than our physical family because it will last forever. We are all shaped for God purpose. God’s five purposes for our life are worship, ministry, discipleship, evangelism and fellowship. Therefore, it is important to understand our purpose on this earth. God puts you and me on this earth not just to be consumers, but contributors.
We need someone that we can be accountable to. We need someone that we can trust. We need someone who has greater experience than us. Relationship takes place when we acknowledge someone’s importance in our life. It happens when we commit ourselves to be part of another person’s life. We need to learn from each other, to build up each other, to criticize healthily, to correct, to remind, to encourage, and to advice. Everyone is unique and has different abilities. Therefore, there is something that we can learn and pick up from each other. The great barrier to the matter of trust and readiness to learn from someone is pride. The key to develop trust is humility. An open heart and willingness to learn are ultimately important. Jealously and underestimation should be kept out of the door. A relationship is a two-way traffic. Each member must pour in commitment to ensure the relationship works. It requires effective communication. The frequency is adjustable. When it is time to give way, give way. Be sensitive, be ready.
In 1 Peter 4:7-11, it says that
7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
The greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength. The second is to love our neighbour as ourselves. Look at the life of Jesus. For his sacrificial love for all the sinners of the world including you and me, he carried the cross, being humiliated and spat, endured all the pains and agony, yet he chose to surrender to God and died a horrible death for you and me on the Calvary. Roman 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. We are all justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. If Jesus did not die for you and me on the cross, our life will be without hope. There will be no salvation; there will be no eternal life.
To conclude, when we live, we live for Christ; when we die, we die for Christ. But first, lets build a strong relationship among the brothers and sisters in Christ. We are the body of Christ, and ech one of us is a part of it. Remember that when one part suffers, every part suffers with it. And when one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it. Are we ready to redefine our statement of faith? Are we ready to shine? Are we ready to bring an impact to the world? Are we ready to stand up, leave our old selves behind and be renewed in God? Nothing is impossible with God. God is ever ready. He is calling. He is waiting for us to pick up the phone.
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