LIVING FOR CHRIST

‘Are the things we are living for worth Christ dying for?’

That question challenged me when it was first posed to me. To understand it better I re framed it. What is the position of God in what am doing? This simplified it for me, or so I thought. In 2^nd Corinthians 5:15 Paul writes,

“He died for everyone so that those who receive new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them” (Life Application Study Bible, NLT)

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The exposition of this book challenges my spiritual life. I mean, Jesus died for me to live for Him. Am I living for Christ? What is living for Christ? Jesus surrendered his life for my sake. What a gesture of love! Jesus considered his life worthless to reconcile me and you with God, and He only expects me to live for him. In other words, whatever I do, Christ should take the center stage.

Live for Christ? No. I have a career, I have a life to live because life is short. These are some of the things that we think by living for Christ we will lose or will be inconvenienced. This life is not our own. If it was, no one would get sick or even die. The moment we confess that Christ is our lord we should mean our words. Christ being my Lord means that, I will allow God make good use of me according to His will; I don’t mind any adjustments. Whatever Christ wants me to be, I should not object because He is my lord. If I cannot allow God to use me according to His will, then I am the “lord”

We may have many excuses on why we think God should not use us. May be we don’t have finances to travel to a far city to preach the gospel. May be we don’t want to lose our jobs. Its okay, you don’t need to travel miles and miles for you to preach the gospel. You have neighbors, have they heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ? To preach the Gospel you do not need a large crowd to cheer you up. You need to transform only one soul and make that person a disciple. Start preaching to your brothers, sisters, parents and even your immediate neighbors. That’s how mission starts,just letting loose for God to use you.

You do not have to quit your job to spread the gospel. God has blessed you with that job for a reason. Take the opportunity and preach the gospel to your workmates; explain the love of God to them. You even have enough time to disciple them because you probably see and meet them daily. If you are a student, you are better placed than anyone else. You have the energy and time to preach the gospel. In your area of specialization, that’s your mission ground.Let everyone you interact with know the gospel of truth before you ask for an outreach.

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The main commissions according to Mathew 28:18-20, is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ making disciples just as Christ did. Immediately you receive salvation, you no longer live for your own but for Him who died for you. This simply means that we ought to spread the gospel of Christ wherever we are. Let the people that you interact with understand that someone sacrificed His live for the sake of ours.We have to let God be our Lord and allow Him to use us fully for His Glory.

WHAT CAN "SHE" PUT ON ...

I have just completed my undergraduate studies in one of the country’s public universities. As I await graduation ceremony, that is only an a few months away, I have realized that my age has also updated accordingly. I have also noted that my friends are either in promising relationships or have already given me their wedding cards. The other day my close friend Florence tied a knot with his fiancee, Duncan, in a very colorful wedding. Everyone was either beautiful or handsome:men in black suits and purple ties and ladies in purple dresses. Although am not good in colors, I can tell that everything looked awesome. I liked every bit.

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I stared at Florence as she was escorted by her parents to meet her groom. It was amazing. She was gorgeous in her wedding dress.It was a moment of joy. In my mind however, run a very different script. I started thinking, she is now going to be someone’s wife and as a result somethings between us (as friends) have to change: chats, conversations and time for one another, not only for me but equally for other friends too. The maiden’s dresses were amazing. I was fascinated by their stunning looks. I also thought about myself. When will I ever stand next to my Dad on the pulpit waiting for my bride? I laughed, almost loud enough to be heard by the person seated next to me. I was laughing at myself. I mean, how I can think of marriage when am not even in a relationship and have not even thought of getting into one.

 It was that sarcasm that prompted my laughter. I thought about it for a second. What if I wanted to get into a relationship that would probably lead to marriage! What kind of a lady will I be looking for? What characteristics? Of course I have a list of qualities that I expect from (Ruth) to compliment what (Boaz)have. In this article however, I won’t discuss all of them. I will only focus on one. Dressing. It’s a slippery issue to talk about especially among the young people. But I promise I won’t dictate what to be worn or what not to be worn. I won’t do that. After all who am I to do that?

Just as I had noted earlier in this article, I have been in an institution of higher learning (campus) for the last four years. I have seen quite a variety of dressing styles. From ‘hallelujah’ dresses to small clothes that cover less and leave quite large part of the body exposed. You may ask, is this funny? What’s wrong with that?  I must admit that everything looked wrong and funny a few years back when I first saw a lady in a miniskirt. I was never used to that. This was after relocating to Nairobi from upcountry. I grew up in a village called Uiini, a rural community in famous Machakos County (former district).  As a village boy, I observed everything that happened in my surrounding. Women seemed to have a common way of dressing, they wore dresses and skirts with blouses, from young girls to grandmas. It was amazing. My mother whom I take as an example wore dresses, skirts and blouses as well.

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As far as I can remember, the issue of dressing never appeared in any conversation, dialogue or any other activity that took place. Why then am I talking about dressing?It’s the same question am asking myself. I see disparities in the way ladies dress today. I don’t know why the difference. Maybe it’s because I have been exposed into different cultures that does not conform to my native one.Currently, it’s even difficult to tell what is decent dressing. One thing am sure though, since I was a young boy up to date many things have changed,among them dressing. However, the last time I visited my family upcountry, I noted that some things have been preserved.

For the few days I stayed around I observed that none of my family members wore a trouser, miniskirts and pair of shorts. Not even my neighbors. The skirts and dresses worn are some inches below the knees. Only a few young ladies at the nearest shopping center wore trousers. I thought this is old-fashioned. Wait a minute, you mean all these people are wrong? No. I don’t think so. They have kept some values for a reason. My observation kept me thinking, does this mean then that all my friends who put on trousers and miniskirts can’t fit in my society. To be honest,I don’t know the answer. I have nothing against them but I think my family and society, where I come from, have some set standards that I am not bold enough to defy.