On 12 December this
year, Kenya will be turning fifty years. It’s quite an exciting time to be part
of for many Kenyans who will get to witness the start of this remarkable year called Jubilee.
As I write this article many plans are
underway to make the celebrations significant. Every Kenyan has been urged to
take time to celebrate this year in a unique manner and pray for their country.
The word "jubilee" is derived from the Hebrew word jobel,
which means "ram's horn"; since it was precisely that horn which was
used as a trumpet, whose sound indicated to everybody the beginning of the
jubilee year.
We cannot understand the full
impact of this without knowing its historical background. For more than 80
years before the Exodus, the Israelites had been slaves in the land of Egypt,
without freedom and without possessions. When they reached the land of Canaan,
Joshua divided the land among their tribes and their families, so that each had
his own inheritance. Every adult male among them became a land owner. This land
was a permanent possession that could never depart from his family. If a man
became poor he could sell part or all of his land, but only temporarily. It would always revert to him or his descendants
at the year of Jubilee. If he became even poorer and was unable to pay his
debts, he could sell himself into slavery, and work to pay off his debts. Again
that slavery could only ever be temporary. When the great Day of Atonement in
the year of Jubilee came he became a free man once again and repossessed his
inheritance.
What does this mean
for Kenya?
The year of Jubilee
is a time for God to use us to bless those around us. It is a time to be a
blessing in all the ways we can be to our brothers and sisters despite their
religion, their race, their background or any other difference. We are one
country under God.
We can do this through the following steps
- Redemption
To redeem is to give value to what
has lost value or significance. Jesus
has redeemed us from all sins and made us whole in Him. We can do so for those
around us by being careful of how we speak about those of other tribes and
ethnic background. It’s time we extend our love to others
- Restitution
How do you demonstrate justice for
those around you? Do you sit by when you see a crime being committed and tell
yourself it’s none of your business? Well, its time to speak up against
injustice in our society.
Have you wronged someone? Well it’s
time to be the bigger man and ask for forgiveness. It’s time to also forgive
those who have wronged you.
- Repentance
This is totally abandoning your way
for another way. It’s living the opposite of how you used to live. It’s an
awareness that you are forgiven by God and hence you should extend the same grace
to those around you.
- Return
It is about time you returned to the
first love mentioned in Revelation chapter 2:4. It’s time to rekindle that fire
that you had for Jesus. Then share this fire with those around you. Spread a
bit of Jesus around you
I plan to spend the 12th
differently this year. I plan to forgive, show real concern to those around me,
remind my loved ones how much I treasure and pray for my mother country.
What about you?
Happy Birthday Kenya.
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