Welcome Home! Remember the wonders.
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Israel, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. (1Chr 16:11-13)
I remember my very first job as a young graduate engineer in 2004: it was such a great opportunity in which I was shining and growing; but I quit in less than a year. I was single, unsettled, almost lost for direction, attempting a relationship, but very passionate about serving God. How could she say yes to such a guy? But she did! Now I look at my wife and our children, the journey of life so far, and the seven years of service here at Kyambogo, and I can only exclaim: Oh, the wonders God has done! Look back too, and bring to memory the great and mighty things God has done in your life… Auntie Betty remembers the little Chapel she served for years as the only lay staff, with Rev Musiime as the only clergy; the Chapel has been extended and expanded, more staff and volunteers recruited, more Chaplains – even as Kyambogo University evolved from three institutions, and continues to grow.
In his song of praise in 1Chr 16, David calls to mind God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises across many generations; I believe David also remembered how God lifted him from the fields as a shepherd boy through a tough and rugged path to the palace to lead the entire chosen nation of Israel. This celebration will hit its climax when the saints are gathered forever in the glorious paradize described in Revelation 7, “wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”
In his sermon of All Saints Day on Wednesday 01st Nov 1995, Rev Ephraim Musiime explained that the term ‘saint’ has two meanings in the New Testament: it refers to the godly who have already died, and also to the corporate church – the Christians living today. You need not die first before you are called a saint; all believers in Jesus Christ are saints. But what type of saint are you? Do we daily measure up to the demands and calling of a saint? He pointed to Luke 9:21-26 and Mark 8:38 to bring out the demands associated with this calling – faithfulness, even in the face of rejection, poverty, humiliation or even disastrous persecution.
A person who is more concerned about fitting into and pleasing his own generation than about following and pleasing Christ will have no part in God’s Kingdom. To be a true saint today requires costly faithfulness to Christ, in which case you are not afraid to stand to be counted – even when threatened by death. The situation that calls upon us to accept to be rejected, humiliated and put to death will be reversed when He returns in glory as the judge of all people. The saints will be gathered in that glory and exclaim: Oh! The wonders God has done! Hallelujah!