DURING RECENT MONTHS, N.A.S.A., Kenya's Opposition Party. has been trying to lobby for 'Breaking away from Kenya' - Cessation in other words.
In 1895 what was then the British Empire set up the East African Protectorate, which, in 1920, became known as Kenya Colony. Then in 1963, forty three years later, Independence was achieved and the territory became known as The Republic of Kenya, as it is today.
For some 122 years this community of tribes and mini nations have lived peacefully together bearing each others cultures and differences toward a National all embracing unity.
WHY break up the process now? There have been setbacks in the process, but they have always been overcome, and the Nation has grown stronger, and more willing to evoke change within themselves. A stable Nation. A mature Nation - but still developing.
WHEN I WAS A BOY in Secondary School my Mum left her husband for another man.
The man was himself married, with a wife and teenage daughter. Both he and my Mum had endured 'unhappy' marriages, and had in fact known each other in their youth, before either married. In 1950 they decided to set up home together, with me in tow. I had sympathised with my Mum for many years as she suffered an apparently "Alchaholic' husband, verbally and physically whilst trying to keep the home together.. When she left him I did not blame her. In 1950, and for some years still to come, the whole situation would have been viewed as immoral, both in the secular as well as the Christian world of the time. Neither of them were able to obtain a Divorce by current laws then in force, and thus lived together 'in sin' as it was called; an adulterous Union. But, without attending church, or receiving any religious instruction at home, and without having read the Bible, I still had an almost intuitive feeling that Divorce was a 'No Go Game'. Nevertheless, as I have said, I felt that somehow she had a right to be happy.
But she always "worried about it in her heart; then I would say to her that everything was alright, and that God wanted her to be happy anyway. Anyway? NO, not 'anyway'and not by any means. But I had still to learn that. Certainly God wants us all to BE happy, l but there is no happiness apart from HIM; no happiness outside of of His Law of Love. My Mum remained unhappy in her heart"
(extracted from my book 'A Cry from the Street' published in 1987).
Well since the 50's the Courts have opened up their doors to those wanting freedom to walk out on their Marriage Vows. Originally it was understood that a so called "Bill of Divorcement' could be written only when proof of sexual infidelity had been discovered. This was based on Mark 4 in the Bible, and Jesus agreed that Moses had been permitted to allow this - but ONLY because of the 'hardness' of human hearts. This 'hardness of heart' refers to the 'condition of insensibility to the call of God.' The 'idea' of Marriage is attributed to GOD and not Man. The union is supposed to be 'sacred' It is not an invention of Man, but a divine institution. The bond that God Himself has tied, may not to be lightly untied.
But to day, in our world society, divorce is up for grabs for almost anything at all - for anything one or other of the union determines it incompatible with, and for the other. A situation too far gone to rectify without serious distress and sacrifice. We may compassionately accept that Marriage is not always bearable, we have made a pact to bare it, with God - and He is not mocked.
ON THE 30TH DECEMBER 2017, the Kenyan DAILY NATION printed a lecture entitled
A NATION SHOULD BE LIKE A FULFILLING MARRIAGE;
ONE IS FREE TO LEAVE IT, BUT CAN ALSO CHOOSE TO STAY
 |
| Ernest Renan |
'a nation is a great solidarity, constituted by the feeling of sacrifices made, and those that one is still disposed to make.'From here David Ndii continues in his own words to use Renan's explanation of what a nation is.
He writes - ' Renan contends that a nation ought to be a daily plebiscite, by which he means that it must prove its worth to its people on an ongoing basis. A nations worth is proved when people are free to leave, but choose to strive on - for better or for worse. In short a nation is a fulfilling marriage.
Although I do not follow either Renan or Ndii.s faith or politics, I must say I felt quite helped by the allegory of a nation to a marriage - and vice verca. It added to my conviction that Marriage is for ever, no matter how bad it gets. That conviction begins with Adam and Eve. They must have had a lot of problem in their marriage, but they did not split up, did not give up on one another. It may well have ended up a 'blame game' for the balance of their lives together, but they endured.
RENAN states that a nation is a great solidarity (a great union of variable strengths) made possible by the 'feeling' (inner sense) of sacrifices made (in sticking with each other), together with those sacrifices each is agreeable to make in the future, to the same end. I understand this to mean that the more we are able to put UNION first, sinking our differences and enduring them, the more sure it will be that we can end up with a cohesive and strong nation, able to withstand every test and attack upon its identity, as a Nation. This is so much a description of Marriage, where we have in every case two individuals progessively, through their differences, and sacrifices in suffering those differences, become welded more and more into a oneness of understanding; learning through patience to forgive, endure and finally love each other AS ONE. This IS the intention, I believe. I wonder if RENAN saw his marriages in this light? I believe he may have done - even without being a believer. He WAS married, and had two children, and his family life appears to have been quite settled. BUT, as a believing Christian, with the Holy Spirit to guide and spur him, he would have seen this even ,more clearly and more essentially.
RENAN went on to say that a nation ought to be a 'daily plebescite' - a kind of daily vote by its people that all is well, on an ongoing basis. This kind of daily 'rain check' on each others state of heart and mind should always be taking place in the course of our normal communion with each other.
This excerpt from his writings, as cited by David Ndii,, states that a nation is proved (established) when the people who are partners in it are free to leave, but choose to strive on together- for better or for worse.
This again, to me, so rightly speaks of a marriage that will endure. Of course I know that as a Christian I see Marriage in a special way, but I accept also, that all Marriage began with GOD, and that HE set up the pattern of it, and His intentions are for it affect the world at large, and meant to manifest to the world what He is in Himself; He would like to see Himself in our Marriages. Marriage should reflect God's Mercy and Long suffering toward us all.
SO TODAY I find myself afraid that so many who ARE divorced, and may have found for themselves a greater happiness than they had with their first love (if it was love), have put themselves first, and in seeking their own joy, have missed God's Will and Purpose in Marriage. I do believe Mankind was not conceived in God's Mind, or created by Him, in order for it to please itself. I believe we were created simply to SERVE Him, and to be obedient to His Will. I believe that to allow my marriage to be broken, or allow another to help me break my marriage vow, and annul that marriage, is a very serious and disappointing matter to God. It will not be what He wanted from us. It may not always bring the happiness HE has planned for us. It does not reveal His Mind or Spirit in us, but speaks only of our own selfish nature which is meant to be crucified with Christ on the Cross. From God's point of view Mankind has rejected His Word, Believer or Not, as the case may be. He has progressively allowed himself to push aside the revelation of God's Mercy and Loving kindness working in me patiently in long suffering and forgiveness. The bottom line is that in God's sight I can have as many partners as I choose but I should not have run out on the
first since, in His Sight, I have not kept my promise which I made in His Name. I will only ever be truly married to that ONE,as Far as He is concerned.
IN THE BOOK OF HOSEA 2V19-20 - and even onwards from there, we can read -
I will betroth thee unto me for ever;
Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness
and in judgement, and in loving kindness, and in mercies,
I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness
and thou shalt know the Lord.
God does become angry - BUT He does not cast away for ever. His way is the 'Until Death Do US Part Way', and He has done away with Death in Christ. Marriage viewed in this way is an everlasting covenant. I feel that God intends that we should all have Mercy upon each other, and that we should bear one another in Christ, and with Christ IN us.
If men and women were prepared to deny themselves and to suffer one another seeing each others good, then how much loneliness and shame, and how much deceit and fear, and how many cases of child delinquency would be avoided? If only men and women were faithful to the Promises made to each other, establishing a stable , secure, and love filled, merciful home and family, how full of light the world would be!
Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones writes -
'What right have we to expect nations to stand
by their promises, and to keep their vows to each other,
if men and women do not do it even in this most solemn
and sacred union of marriage?
We must start with ourselves.
We must start at the Beginning.
We must observe the Law of God - not MOSES -
IN OUR PERSONAL AND INDIVIDUAL LIVES
Nothing is impossible with God even when we consider, humanly, that He cannot get it to happen. For 'the grace of God who hath called us into His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after we have suffered a while, will make you/ us perfect, and will establish, strengthen and settle you/ us.' 1.Peter 5v10 In the Amplified Bible Translation and the same verse we find it saying that -
'God Himself will complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen and settle you.
IN CHRIST there is no marriage that needs to be broken or promises cast aside. WITHOUT Christ I must concede that Men and Women may fail to succeed.
RENAN, the Christless Philosopher, says that a nation is a great solidarity of individual differences and opinions, sacrificially abiding together and suffering each other, and choosing not to repudiate one another but to strive and struggle on to ONENESS and unbreakable unity. - FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE. I like it. I like it even more in Christ and with Christ.
SAVE THE HOME! SAVE THE FAMILY! SAVE THE CHURCH .....Be NOT conformed to the world, and its empty doom. Seek no occasion against one another. If you are married, seek not to be separated, but choose to overcome one another in Love.
Such a Nation divided, and breaking away from itself, will inexorably FAIL to become a Nation.
I hope Mr. Ndii has also understood this fundamentally. He belongs to the Opposition. Let us hope that he will help prevent Kenya from being unfaithfull to itself, and its constituent members.
WE have the freedom to break away, but instead let us CHOOSE to stay together and strive and evens struggle within ourselves to refine ourselves, and courageously determining not to lose the Joy and Fulfilment of being a NATION together. I commend this view to Marriage also.
Above is a Cartoon depicting Ernest Renan.
Although a Catholic he was not a Believer in Christ.
He was much misled, and because of the error in his writings
he was considered to be an enemy on the devil's side against
the Church.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WELL this has been longer than I had hoped, and has taken me longer to write than usual. I may not always write so lengthily, and I may not always write every week. I hope I have not hurt any of my divorced friends by what is written here. I love you all, and esteem you highly, and know that the Lord I know and love, loves you even more than I do or can. But this is on my heart, and I must be honest to the light that I have. We shall all stand in front of God, one way or another, and give an account of how we have served Him.
DAN NDUNGU, our youngster with the hole in his heart is back in Nairobi going through three days of further tests. They may send him home again afterwards to wait for the Operation to be confirmed. It has been as great frustration to him and to ourselves as we have stood with him in prayer.
JAMES MANU, will be attending his Eye Clinic this week on Wednesday. He should get a final Appraisal of his progress on this occasion. He may be there with Joshua Mbithi who will also hope to be having eye treatment with the same Consultant.
On Sunday evening about 6.30p.m. 40 Chapatis disappeared from the kitchen store. They were part of the Supper, and were to be eaten with a good Stew. They had been locked inside the kitchen store, but when the cook unlocked and went to collect them he found not even ONE left! Rather like ,magic. How DID 40 heavy chapatis leave a locked room without even a crumb left behind. A mystery. Well 'someone' still unknown must have had a key. But even then what would any one want with 40 pizza size Chapatis. We trust the Lord will uncover the matter in His own time.
Much love to you all in Jesus Name.
John, Esther, and Daryl Green
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