The Murdering Rescuer

The Murdering Rescuer! An interesting irony this is. Well, actually this speaks about Moses. A little background on him, he was born from the Levite family at a time when the Israelites due to their swelling numbers in Egypt, the then king of Egypt was threatened he said in Exodus 1: 9 “the Israelites have become…too numerous for us” later in verse 22 the Pharaoh gives an order “every boy that is born…thrown into the Nile”.  That then explains why where he got his name from Moses meaning “drawn from the water” given to him by the Pharaoh daughter. The daughter in this case being his ‘rescuer’ and yet her father was a ‘murderer’. This then begins the journey of Moses, however we are told one time he witnessed one of his own people (he knew he was a Hebrew) a Hebrew being beaten by an Egyptian. At the spur of the moment he attacked and killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

From his view, he was defending his people from oppression and thus ended up being a murderer. Many at times, knowingly or otherwise we commit such ‘murders’ in a bid to set something right. Be it saying something vile about someone else, pushing others into doing things they would never opt for and when we discover our mistake (s) we are quick to ‘hide them in sand’. What we do by hiding what we have done is to try and absolve ourselves from the wrong doing. However, just as Moses our cover is easily blown. In Exodus 2: 13-15 Moses saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one on the wrong “why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” The answer he gets makes him flee into another town. One of the fighting men tells him “who made you a ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?”

However, the next time we meet the ‘murderer’ he is standing on a holy ground and is speaking to a burning bush. Moses is having a conversation with God. In fact, God is about to use him to liberate His people. He is in a grand plan of being a rescuer of the Israelites. He gives a series of excuses that he is not good enough for the task, even referring to his stammering but God is set to use him regardless of his background and his issues to rescue His people from bondage.

What this story of Moses is stressing is that it does not matter what scandals are under your name, provided that God has a plan for you, He will see it through. It also hints on the many second chances we have in life. More so when we feel we do not deserve God’s grace in light of our dirty past. What is fascinating in all this is that a murderer can be a rescuer. What it takes is a willing and repenting heart. Other people who can be said to have gone through the murderer-rescuer transformation include St. Paul, Mary Magdalene and you too!

By Eunice Kilonzo

Taboo...

As I begun this piece I kept getting blank stares from the page, the cursor constantly blinking reminding me to write. Writing about sex is somehow difficult. Not because there is nothing to write about it but how to write on it. Sex for a very long time has and to others it still is a taboo subject. Many parents are not only ashamed but embarrassed to discuss sex matters with their growing children. Dialogue with teenagers about sexual health is found mostly to be minimal, if not absent. This limitation is influenced by the cultural values, beliefs and norms of teenagers. To a great extent, culture influences which and how sexual health issues can be discussed between teenagers and adults Unfortunately, for the adolescents who are curious and laden with various questions on love, sex, relationships and a lot other issues affecting them lack guidance and answers to these queries and will seek information elsewhere. In this critical period for teenagers, they are vulnerable to so many influences.

Teenagers and young adults are gradually learning to make their own choices and assert themselves as individuals separate from their parents and their peers. However, teenagers are reluctant to discuss anything with their parents, especially the issues that might result in an earlier curfew or increased scrutiny of themselves or their friends. Like many other teenagers, I would have died if my mom had tried to have a conversation with me about sex. I thought I was a pretty well-informed individual. After all through the media and science classes I knew about condoms and STDs and that “the only 100% effective way to prevent pregnancy is abstinence”. Unknown to me there was much more I had to know about sex and how it affects me and my relations with others. Questions such as WHAT IS SEX? SHOULD I HAVE IT? MYTHS ABOUT SEX,ARE THEY TRUE? These are among the many questions that will be discussed in today’s Journey. Feel free to ask, give your opinion and hopefully a time will come, who knows maybe our children will get parents(us) who will tactfully have dialogues on sex without cringing from embarrassment or fear.

As I conclude I would like to share a poster I saw on the internet and it plainly stated:

SEX: WHAT LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT verses LOVE: WHAT SEX GOT TO DO WITH IT?

The only way to understand sex and the ‘mysteries’ around it is through dialogue, to talk about it, to discuss it and in doing so understand sex, its consequences and its purpose as ordained by God. Let us share, shall we?

Of Love and Valentine Day

So I happened to have a chat with Cupid yesterday. He was worn out, fatigued and a total mess. Well, it was only natural of me to ask the buddy the number plate of the car that had run him over. His reply however was that he had had so much work (which he was still far from concluding). He had not slept a wink the past 18hours as he had to send valentine wishes all over the world within the 24 hours. He further went ahead and complained about how he could not understand why one would set aside just one day to prove and show their love to their special ones yet they have 360 plus days to do so.

Monday was Valentine day and many if not most people celebrated the day in style or otherwise. To some it was a historical day as they proposed to their partners, there are those who got their first bunch of real flowers (like me), others celebrated their anniversaries, others met their soul mates/friends and yet some closed the chapter on ever dating again. Whichever turn your day took on the Monday, I am certain at some point the question ‘what is Love’ was doing rounds in your head. Well, the question is still posed: WHAT IS LOVE? Depending on how one decides to look at it, it means something to each one of us.

Some would describe love as the emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. Further, love is not just a virtue but the basis for all being. St.Thomas Aquinas, defines love as “to will the good of another” Love exists as Agape, Eros, Familial love as well as platonic/friendship love. Love can thus be said to be multifaceted. Interestingly, there is a very thin almost invisible line between Love and Hate .Except in Agape. How so? Eros can refer to romantic, passionate desire and intimacy. It is closely linked to lust that if unchecked blossoms into pain, guilt and consequently hate. The same can be said to Platonic love as well as Familial love as they both quickly disintegrate when put under different circumstances.

Agape love is God’s love or that of Christ for mankind. The best fact about this love is that it is always constant regardless of our limitations, iniquities and shortcomings. GOD IS LOVE. He loved us before He even created us; His love surpasses our human understanding. I mean He has given us life today not that we are better individuals or privileged but because of his love and plan for our lives yet some of us only show him our love during ‘valentines’ that is often at our hardships, agony and disillusionment. That is where we proclaim of our fervent love of God in the hope to ‘bribe’ our way in order to be petitioned and attract His mercy.

John 3:16 has been called the “Gospel in a nutshell” as it is a summary of the central doctrine of Christianity:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”

Oh! See how much love God has for you. That our King, Jesus, died for you and me. He laid his life for us. Now this is amazing LOVE. Let us then celebrate Valentines Day daily with our Father, through our thoughts, actions and words. Let us thank Him for his Love, providence and blessings. We have 360+ days to celebrate Valentine day with God, our loved ones, family, friends and neighbors. One day in a year is certainly not enough. Don’t you think?

HAPPY VALENTINES!!

 By Eunice Kilonzo

A Fresh Start

Campus life can be monotonous, boring and even stale at times. Be it going to lectures, completing assignments, a term paper and doing the same thing over a period of time. Thus it’s not surprising that we all look forward to finishing exams and getting that holiday break. To do something different, go home or even get a job/ internship. What that break does to us, is it rejuvenate us, gives us a time to mend and repair our worn out selves. That explains why in the beginning of most semesters, it feels like a new chance, a new experience one has to make a difference from the previous semester. Kind of like a Fresh Start.

In the same way, we need to rejuvenate our spiritual self. Like our physical being, it needs nurturing, treatment and even pampering. Thus one need to take stock of what they have, replenish what has been exhausted and even discard that which is not necessary or beneficial for our growth. Thus its stagnation if; the only time we talk to God or do his will is on Sunday when we go to church or when someone is expecting our kindness. We need to look within us, and acknowledge our spiritual shortcomings/inadequacies, think of a new plan, a fresh start to rejuvenate ourselves. As Albert Einstein said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. How then do we be sane about it?

In Psalms 51 verse 10, David says:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me”.

We need to realize that we have a friend who can help us in this new awakening, in that, we agree that God who is our creator, will mould in us a new heart, meaning we ask him to change what we had before to a better, more advanced heart and not only that, to renew a steadfast/persistent spirit within us. From the verse, it is clear that God does not install any new software into our system but rather, He uses a pre-existing one. This then should further encourage us that we have in us the ability to be made better, and with the persistent spirit we will always seek God to rekindle us. Thus we can be customized over time into a new model; we have a seed in us that grow for a fresh start!

Consequently, we all can get a fresh start. However, one ‘fresh start’ is not enough. It is a continuous process, one that may not be a great experience to go through as it may mean scrapping/shedding off of things that we hold dear to us and yet they push us away from the Kingdom of God. It may even mean sieving out the friends who were quick to push you into sin and identifying those that will help you in your walk with Christ. We need to go to the feet of He who knows our beginning and our end. Who begun the world from a clean slate and who to Him, we are his new generation, His fresh start.

Mark 2 verse 21-22 says:

“No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskin, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins”

Let us then be the new wineskin, which will and can hold new wine. Let us put aside the things that tie us to our sinful past, the guilt, the frustration, the despair and take it all to Him in prayer and thanksgiving. Let us remember that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their cries. Because the Lord redeems the soul of his servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

In conclusion, when thinking about a second chance, imagine a prisoner who was on death row, pardoned and walks OUT of prison. Imagine a patient who was in a coma for months being healed and LEAVES the hospital. Imagine Lazarus WAKING up from the dead and reuniting with his two sisters. Imagine YOU getting a FRESH START!

Eunice Kilonzo

When the Load is too heavy…

Mathew 11:28 Jesus says:

“Come to me, all of you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest”.

What are the things that burden us? Is it campus life? Our families? Our plans? Our Past? Or even our fears? What are the things that we need rest from? Unknowingly or otherwise, we allow things that hunch our backs by their heaviness. Tasks and relationships linger after their time has passed. We will always remember that bully in high school, that social circle we tried to connect with or that friend who betrayed you. It will bother us, more so if it is a sin, the guilt will eat us; indulge our strengths in putting us down.

Picture yourself at the airport, a bus station or even about to get into a ferry. Of course you have your bags, your baggage and so is everyone else travelling. However, rarely do the other travellers know what you are carrying in your luggage. Unless you have a live chicken in a box that keeps quacking, threatening to take off. Now imagine your journey takes off and in the middle of your journey, something happens, say an explosion; because of what either you carried or someone else did. One of my high school teachers used to chide us to park and leave outside all our problems before coming to class.

In our Christian lives, we are on a Journey, a Journey to be what God hoped for us. However, we are always carrying tons and tons of many things along. Our insecurities that we are not good enough before God; our guilt of what our past holds of us; our cover-up and masks that tightly covers our true self, too tight that at times it may let go-exposing us; our pride in our (past) achievement and a lot more. We are always picking up more baggage that not only slows us down but which may also tangle us and we may trip and fall. If not checked, these things may explode on us.

Christ calls and tells us in Mathew 11: 29-30:

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light”

So let us all take this plea to let go of the things that ensnare us, of the things that entangle us, let us put down the bricks of stones we carry at His feet, and let Him help us. This is because the meek and lowly Jesus urges his disciples (us) to bear the yoke of discipleship, which is lines with love and promises us that it will be a delight rather than a burden because of his continuing presence. It calls us to submit to his authority and requires self denial. On the other hand, let us not be like the Pharisees or the scribes who claim a high religious status but do not fulfil its demands. Let us live up to our identity as Christians. In addition, let us not be a burden to others. Let us not tie up heavy burdens on other people’s shoulders, but we do not lift a finger to move them. St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 6:2) urges us to bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfil the law of Christ.

By Eunice Kilonzo

What is your addiction?

Research suggests that Facebook and Twitter have the same addictive traits as cocaine in the brain. Further research highlights that four in every ten young people on the internet is either on social media or watching pornography. Could we then say that the internet and more so, social media is the new addiction of the 21^st century?

Alcohol and substance abuse is a major problem for young adults. This is a common sight in campus, where some comrades are constantly ‘high’ on either alcohol or bhang among other drugs. This scene is worsened during campus elections, booze is an incentive for the voters as some ‘philanthropic’ candidates have discovered. Addiction is defined as “to surrender oneself to something obsessively or habitually“. Its characteristics include ‘must have’, ‘want more’ and ‘can’t stop’. What is your addiction? Is it the social media, alcohol, money, love, books, women/men, swag, computer games, bribes, malice?

Personally my addiction was sugar. It is in the past tense -Was- because I overcame the urge to be constantly ‘sugar high’. I would dream of the great feeling of taking sweet things, chocolates to sodas and back to anything sugar. I did not have a specific amount of tea spoons to take in my tea, I would just pour it, relish it sinking in the cup and then stop when a mound would form at the base of the cup, then add similar amounts of Milo and add milk (without water) to fill the cup. During the day, I would always have a pack of sweets in my bag, I would chew on gum with sugar; basically I became a sugar junkie. The flipside however was the side effects when I did not get my ‘shot’ of sugar, I would be irritable, dizzy, withdrawn and pretty much sad. Not to mention the weight gain, strain in my finances and evasiveness when anyone commented on my sugar addiction. In June this year, a nurse warned me that I would be overweight if I added even a gram of weight! Now this was my turning point, over time I quit sugar (it was very difficult in the beginning though).

We all have addictions/ old habits that we opt for knowingly or otherwise that are constantly eating into us, burn our spirit and the more we feed into this addiction we fan this fire into a much bigger hotter flame. Sadly, these addictions are rarely on the positive, they are always the things we are ashamed of being associated with, the things that we would like to be defined with. Dear friend, you are not the only one struggling with this addiction, if anything they are others with worse. Also, by acknowledging their strain in your life implies that you would like to put a stop to it but you are not sure how. In Ephesians 2: 1-16, Paul addresses the issue of addictions, about lusts of our flesh and of the mind but he says this is not what defines us, neither is this our end because he says:

“And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins...for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast...”

However in 1^st Peter 2: 11 we are warned that:

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul”

This therefore tells us that we have the capability in us to choose and let go of old habits that hinder our growth in our Christianity, Peter begs us to abstain from our addictions...of the things that ensnare us in our run to victory in Christ. It will not be easy but it can be done, talk to someone about these struggles, pray to God for strength and discernment on what to do about your addiction(s). These addictions are a chain to your ankle, wherever you go, they slow you down and make your walk difficult. Perhaps it’s time we let go of these shackles and walk freely...all we need to do is to lay them before His feet and ask for assistance.

On a lighter note of what our addiction can do to us, a story is told of a little girl who would always go with her father every Friday and the weekends for ice-cream at the parlour. Interestingly, whenever they opened the door to the ice-cream place, a bell attached to the door would ring. So, over years she associated a bell ring with ice-cream. A year later, they were invited to church for a wedding, during the mass, a bell was rung and in the silence she jumped up, looking around and said: ICE-CREAM!

By Eunice Kilonzo