Today is such a lovely day, one that reminds me of sunny days spent lazing by the pool or out on a Game Reserve when I lived in Rhodesia. Having spent twelve years in that wonderful country, (it really was back then), so many of my memories go back to that period of my life. I was still, relatively speaking, a newly-married, having only been married for a couple of years when I arrived in the Country. There was so much to discover, not only about the Country and its people and culture, but also about myself.
From the very beginning I warmed to the people. Their friendliness seemed to know no bounds, and I soon made friends with a great many people from the different ethnic backgrounds. Because of my job, working for the Singer Sewing Machine Company, my work brought me primarily into contact with the African population, and many formed friendships with me that lasted throughout my sojourn in that land. Even today, almost twenty-five years after I left the Country, I can still call to mind so many wonderful people, all of whom helped to make life worthwhile over those years.
I guess that it's because of the friendships and the bond that I felt with my adopted country, that I feel so strongly now about all that is happening there under the Mugabe regime. I took out Rhodesian Citizenship, proud to belong to a Nation that could justifiably hold its head proud. So much was written in the world's media at that time that was totally untrue, all nothing more than propaganda to be used as a sop to the world because Rhodesia had blown a raspberry at Harold Wilson and the British government. I remember how my brother had returned to the UK after coming on a visit, and seen a picture in the press on his return which accompanied the story of how the bridge in the picture had been blown up by 'freedom fighters'. The problem was that he had been standing on the bridge in the picture about three or four weeks after the supposed event, thereby proving it was a malicious lie! There were many such stories abounding! In one infamous newsreel clip it showed tanks rolling down the main streets of Salisbury (now Harare). To get them there they would have had to cross the mountain ranges on the border with Mozambique, or to have rolled up from friendly South Africa! One thing these stories do at least is still bring a smile to the face!
When I think that what we referred to as Terrorists were repeatedly referred to in so much of the world's press as either 'Freedom Fighters' or 'the Liberation Army', I ponder on the form of liberation or freedom that Mugabe's coming to power has meant for my Zimbabwean friends. I guess that the truth of the matter is that when it comes to the question of real freedom there is only one who can bring that into our lives, and that's Jesus Christ.
Jesus came so that the prisoners could be set free. Without Christ people are prisoners of sin, bound by the complexities of their sinful human natures to this world. Only Christ can set people free from sin. Only Christ can offer SALVATION. Human beings --- and that means you and me --- can only be redeemed to God through Jesus Christ. Make no mistake about it! Anyone who thinks otherwise is in for a massive shock when the Book of Life is opened!
So there we are. A few thoughts generated by the beauty of this day. Enjoy it, dear reader, for it truly is a gift from God
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