Metamorphosis

When a caterpillar is ready to become a butterfly, it eats as much as it can because it knows it will soon be time to birth into something better. What happens next is amazing. 

It builds a cocoon around itself and continues to develop. I see this as a period of reflection, thinking for itself, trying to understand itself. And then it emerges out of the cocoon as a beautiful butterfly. 

However before it does that, you must understand that the butterfly is bigger now than when it got into the cocoon. It is therefore more difficult to come out than when it went in as a caterpillar. So what does it do? Give up? Complain?

Mothers' Surprise!

Jesus often talked about the surprises that will abound in the Kingdom of God. He talked about the first being the last and also of those who assume they would be invited on the basis of having done great things like miracles, teachings, etc only to be rejected.

But there is another group of people He didn’t talk about who I think will be honoured in Heaven: Mothers! Yes I know some mother abuse their children, but this article focuses on those who do not abuse their rights and privileges over their kids.

Be angry but…

It’s not easy to remain unperturbed by the events in our world. As I write this, Boko Haram has attacked another town in Northern Nigeria. Behind the statistics of the dead and wounded are precious lives; fathers, mothers, sons, daughter, friends… 

My cousin’s husband is a soldier stationed in one of those areas, and every day she fears for his life, just as we do too. What’s happening there is unfair and evil. No one deserves such horror, yet innocent people are going through that on a daily basis. What can we do as Christians? Pretend everything is well or seethe with rage?

Some time last year, I became overwhelmed by anger. As I read about the atrocities of Boko Haram, ISIS and Al-Shabab, I lost it. I became very bitter. I had just read a survivor’s story of the brutal execution at the hands of one of these groups and I was livid! The whole day I walked around with rage in my heart and great bitterness. Verses from the Bible reminding me of anger and prayers did not dissuade me from this course. I refused to accept Biblical injunctions that said, “pray for your enemies…” I felt like cursing them instead. If I could, I would have prophesied instant and brutal death on them!

The Gradual Descent to Evil

As the world remembers the Holocaust, the word evil has been used often to describe the genocide of Jews and other people at the hands of Nazi Germans. 

Regular folks like us usually associate evil acts with equally evil and savage peoples. The reality is quite different; a picture I saw recently convinced me of that.

Some months ago I saw a very disturbing picture in a World War 2 book. A mother was clutching her toddler tightly, she was slightly bent and had an expression of anticipated pain. Behind her stood a Nazi officer with his gun pointed at them, ready to fire hot lead into their bodies. What was their crime? They were Jews. Simple. 

Lessons from Rahab

One of the most amazing characters in the Bible who encourages me when I am down is Rahab.

Yeah, the same ol' Rahab you know, the Canaanite prostitute.

 In the book of Hebrews 11, there is a listing of the Who-is-Who with regards to Faith. There is Abel, Enoch, Noah, the Patriarch Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, …. And then somewhere tucked in verse 31 is Rahab!

What makes this list profound is that most of the people listed in it are men and of the ‘chosen people’ of Israel. Rahab was a foreigner, an idolater whose country was destroyed as a result of their wickedness, a woman and worse still, a prostitute! She was the poster girl for the opposite of faith. Yet, she is listed among mighty men who are models of faith. What can we learn from her?

Absence

Happy New Year dear friends, I thank God for keeping us and bringing us to another year. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Celebration and took out time to reflect on the season and the year.

I am very very sorry for not writing all this while, my laptop has been misbehaving. It doesn't charge and rarely comes on. I will try and sort it out asap.

But I missed writing and hope to resume once the laptop is fixed. In the mean time, I wish you more of good health, peace and joy, and of course God's Presence.
Happy 2015!!!

Healing for the Broken-Hearted

One of the amazing things I love about God is His accessibility. God is not the exclusive preserve of the rich and famous, or the powerful. He is not only available to those who have gone to religious institutions or the very intelligent. 

God is the God of the poor, the rejected, the confused, the fearful, the abandoned, the broken, the vulnerable, the abused, the scorned, the sinner, the mis-understood, the hungry, the failure, … God is an accessible God!