Liverpool vs Barca 2-1

This week has been a great week with lots of juicy news and information in the newspaper.

It started with Britney Spears shaving off her hair to show her determination to reject drug abuse in her life before going for drug rehab. Then there was a fight of the millionaires in the wrestling world with either Vince Mcmahon or Donald Trump ending up with a shaven head too. But the greatest news must have came on early Thursday morning.

In the wee hours of the morning, amidst all problems at the club, Liverpool overcame all odds to beat Barca 2-1 at Nou Camp. Being an avid Liverpool fan, that was great news. But the greatest joke of all was the 2 unlikely heroes in the game. The men who were fighting over karaoke before the match, Bellamy and Riise.

When Riise scored the second goal from the pass from Bellamy, I was having a laugh of my life. Just hours ago, Bellamy was out to break Riise's leg with a golf club over K Box and now they were hugging each other as if they just got married!!!

What an unexpected turn of events. But as I was watching the game, the Lord started to speak to me. He wants me to see that God has a plan. It may seem to be a joke for Riise and Bellamy in this situation but I believe that this is a test of their conviction to the club and to one another as fellow team mates.

I believe that it is the same in the body of Christ. Some times we have arguments and disagreements in the body but as we begin to resolve the problems seen in the family, we will start to grow in faith and move from glory to glory.

Cor 12:14 For in fact the body is not a single member, but many. 12:15 If the foot says, “Since I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. 12:16 And if the ear says, “Since I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. 12:17 If the whole body were an eye, what part would do the hearing? If the whole were an ear, what part would exercise the sense of smell? 12:18 But as a matter of fact, God has placed each of the members in the body just as he decided. 12:19 If they were all the same member, where would the body be? 12:20 So now there are many members, but one body. 12:21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor in turn can the head say to the foot, “I do not need you.”

In soccer, they are defenders, midfielders, strikers and the goalkeeper. Not a single member must be missing in the team for the unit to function properly. For each of them have different roles in the team. But I believe in Italian soccer, total football. I believe that although every one have different gifts in a team, such as defending or attacking, everyone must support the body when the need arises. That is unity.

When the eye is injured, the hand should help the eye by applying eye lotion. When the mouth is unable to talk, the hands should replace it as means of communication in sign language. This is unity.

Only when everyone is willing to go beyond their "prescribed" roles in the family such as providing laughter when the "joker" is not around or going the extra mile to play different roles in the family will there be unity in the family.

This is especially true as Riise had to play an attacking role to score the goal despite being a defender and that Bellamy had to provide for Riise despite being a striker whose main aim is to score goals. Both people were willing to interchange roles as the situation deems fit.

Questions to ponder:
Is the eye willing to play the role of the leg when the body needs to walk?
Is the arm willing to act as the means of communication when the mouth fails to talk?
Are you willing to exchange roles with another in the family because of God's timing in the body?

Only when we listen and obey the lord who can be personified as a brilliant manager of a team will the team be able to go from glory to glory and achieve great achievements beyond its abilities.

Thank God that God was a Liverpool fan for the night.

Go Deep, Look Far, Ask Big.