Jesus: the One and Only
I have known Jesus ever since I was a small boy growing up in the '90s, in the old days of landline telephone booths. That was many years before I heard of the Beatles - a music band that was popular in the 1960s and that once claimed it was more famous than Jesus.
Of course I got to know Jesus from the lessons I received about Him in church and at school. I remember one primary school teacher named Mrs. Gichiriri telling us during a pastoral lesson that every time we sin, we inflict Jesus with the same pain He felt while He was being crucified on a tree. Where Mrs. Gichiriri got that fact from, I don't know since I have not read it in the Bible.
Back in the '90s when I was a boy, there was a time my kid brother Symo heard me utter the name "Jesus!" as an exclamation. After he castigated me for exclaiming the name "Jesus", I told him the Bible only warns us not to use the name of God in vain and not that of Jesus.
"Do you have to be told?" Symo quickly countered in Kikuyu, his point being that we don't need to be instructed not to use the name of Jesus in vain.
When Symo posed that question to me, I felt deep in my bones that he had a point. So since then, I have never misused the name of Jesus. That was one hell of a great lesson that I learnt at an early age.
Probably as a result of the teachings I received in church and at school, I came to be interested in the persona of Jesus Christ as years rolled on. When I was in Form 2 at Starehe Boys' Centre, I once asked a housemate of mine called Rono how people of today came to know how Jesus looked like yet He lived in an age before cameras were invented. Without pausing to think, Rono said that some folks must have selected the face of a handsome man to represent Jesus.
Even though I was never a fervent Christian during my years at Starehe, I was deeply moved by some of the Christian hymns we sang in the school. When I was in Form 1 in 2002 for instance, I loved the old Negro spiritual "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?" which we sang during that year's inter-house music competition. So much did I love the Negro spiritual that I would croon it while doing my chores at home.
Then in 2004 when I was in Form 3, I equally loved "I Hear Thy Welcome Voice" - the set piece for that year's inter-house music competition. I found that old hymn so tuneful and wonderful that I suggested to my music classmates that we present it for a certain music competition we were invited to in September or October 2005. The classmates agreed to my suggestion.
But it wasn't until I joined All Saints' Cathedral in Nairobi in April 2007 that I became serious in my Christian faith - serious in the sense of praying, studying the Bible and meditating on its message. I just had to become a serious Christian because the churchmates I interacted with in the cathedral required I accept Jesus for me to sing in the choir and play the organ.
That I enrolled for an evangelism course in 2008 at the cathedral shows how serious I became in my Christian faith. The course entailed praying, reading the Scriptures and giving testimonies of what God had done for us. I will never forget the Saturday afternoon when one of my evangelism teachers sat me down after a lesson and lectured me on how Jesus could impact my life and give me a clear mind. She must have noted how confused I was.
Although I have messed up on numerous occasions since 2008, I have never forsaken my Christian faith. I have kept studying the Word and repenting my sins. And I must say I have found comfort in the teachings of Jesus Christ; they are like a shade-giving tree on a hot summer afternoon.
Isn't it wonderful to learn from Jesus that God will fulfill all our needs? That we shouldn't worry about tomorrow? And that knowing the truth will set us free?
After studying the Word of God, I can now honestly say I have matured as a Christian. I have befriended Jesus, the legend in whom I confide all that I go through in my day-to-day living. And because Jesus is my friend, you can call me a Christian. But I am a different kind of Christian - one who loves human beings of all backgrounds, who doesn't meddle with other people's affairs and who respects the beliefs of others, be they Muslims, Buddhists or atheists.
I will keep growing as a Christian till the day I will be reunited with my Maker. What a joy it shall be to be with Jesus in heaven, a place without tears and sorrows!
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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on Jesus Christ, you might also enjoy another one on "My Redeemer Liveth" which I wrote two years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.
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