By David A. Sargent UFC (Ultimate
Fighting Championship) is a brutal sport, but out of the arena comes a
heartwarming story. Themba Gorimbo is
from Zimbabwe. He lost his parents at a
young age. He later almost lost his life
while illegally mining for diamonds in Zimbabwe. He became a UFC fighter to make his way
through life. This journey brought him
to Miami where he convinced his coach to allow him to sleep on a couch in the
gym so he could train to become a better fighter. Gorimbo trained
and entered the ring. He won his first
professional fight on May 20, 2023.
Instead of spending his earnings on himself (for a place to live, etc.),
he sent the money he made from the fight back home to Zimbabwe to help provide
his village with a water well. His
generosity is magnified when we understand that before winning his first fight,
Gorimbo had only $7 in the bank. Dwayne “the Rock”
Johnson heard about Gorimbo, and he wanted to help him. Johnson flew to Miami to meet Gorimbo in
person. When they met, Johnson told
Gorimbo: “Your story moved me. When I found out you had seven bucks in your
bank account — I know what that’s like. I was here in Miami when I had seven
bucks,” Johnson said. “But then, you win your fight, and you sell your fight
kit, you buy a water well for your village in Zimbabwe so your people can have
clean water… You could have taken that money and put it down on a car, on an
apartment. But you didn’t. You took care of your people, and that just says
exactly who you are and that’s why I flew all the way in, man, just to look you
in the eyes, brother, and tell you I got your back.” And how did
Johnson “have his back”? Johnson asked
Gorimbo to go for a ride with him. He
took him to a house under the guise of introducing Gorimbo to a friend who
could help him. When they went into the
house, Johnson surprised Gorimbo with the keys to the home; he had purchased it
for him. He already had pictures of
Gorimbo’s family on display in his new home. To say that
Gorimbo was overwhelmed with gratitude is an understatement. This gift stirred generosity in his heart
again. Gorimbo told Johson that he had
been saving money to buy a home. Now,
since Johnson had provided a home for him, he was going to send the money he
had saved to build another well in Zimbabwe. “I am very
grateful of [‘the Rock’] for what he did for me and my family. This was the
best day of my life. This was a life changing day. My life has been changed,
and I will use this as motivation to change others lives, too. I am very very
grateful to everyone.” Because of our
sins, we have been left destitute – spiritually bankrupt – and doomed (Romans
6:23). But God loves us
so much that He gave His one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross for our
sins (John 3:16). Through His atoning
death and our acceptance of His offer of salvation, we can share in the
abundant spiritual blessings that God offers: forgiveness of sins, peace that
passes understanding, a forever family (the church), an eternal home in heaven,
and more (Ephesians 1:3). God will share
these blessings with those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts
16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before
men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the
forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He will
continue to cleanse from sin and prepare an eternal home for those who continue
to walk in light of His word (1 John 1:7-9). |
- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood
in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled
"Living Water." To learn more about this excellent resource
contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org * Information gleaned from “Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson buys
UFC fighter new home after first win: ‘Your story moved me’” by Paulina Dedaj
of Fox News, www.foxnews.com.  |
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