“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.
He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.”
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season
we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (3John 11, Gal 6:9)
You are warmly welcome! Happy New Year! There are thrilling growth opportunities in store for us this year; position yourself early to take advantage of them with godly stewardship.
We always begin the year with the observance of a Revival Week this month. Observe keenly, think deep and wide, meditate a little, and answer this question: Which areas need revival in your life and in the church? We are thankful to God for great achievements in the past year; on the other hand, we want to honestly recognize those areas that need boosting or reawakening, and these are the focus during this revival season – prayer programs, worship arts, pastoral care, cells or small groups, community outreach, family life matters, special needs care, leadership and ministry development, or personal matters that need pastoral attention. During this season, the Chapel will be open for night prayers every Friday – we have already had a great start. This revival effort is worth it since spiritual health is key to enjoying God’s goodness in your life.
There is a contentious issue I would like to point out as we reflect on the theme of the year – Imitating God’s Goodness by doing Good. While John asserts that ‘Anyone who does what is good is from God’, this must be read in context. There are many people who do what is good but their hearts are far away from God; some are even ‘better’ than the so-called believers. Again, on another note, the judgment of what is good can easily distort the sense in the statement: to one community what is good may be abominable to another community! This matter is contentious indeed, and I almost sound like I don’t agree with Apostle John; but it is all about context. Our theme starts with God’s goodness, and that is where all definitions and viewpoints should be hinged; not the goodness according to some person or community out there, but God’s goodness. One time a friend of mine commented after a funeral service of a good man whose praises had been well sung in the eulogies: ‘he was good, but being good is not enough; was he godly?’
In John’s third letter we have a good example to follow and a bad example to avoid. One of the aspects of God’s goodness is consistency. Doing good may be easy when it is for a short time or among familiar people. God’s goodness that we should imitate goes to all people and for a long time. Think about it, and consider stretching beyond your current limits, and imitate God’s goodness by consistently doing good to God and to all. God bless you!
Rev. Eng. Dr. Emmanuel Mwesigwa – CHAPLAIN