our roots

By Fredrick Rotich
An edition of The Economist
magazine at the dawn of this
century will be remembered
for having Christened Africa as
“a dark continent, plagued by a hopeless
people and rudderless leadership.” The
notion of the continent as dark has faded
with time; the narrative is more growing
today, we are the land of opportunity,
ripe with investment opportunities.
Even then, we still grapple with such
issues as corruption and wars. Diseases
find a haven in our midst and ravage our
people, as the recent Ebola epidemic
has recently taught us. Thousands of
youth still stake all to make a dangerous
journey to Europe in the search for
better prospects only to end up dying in
the Mediterranean Sea.
Desperation has rendered many
disillusioned. Radicalization of the youth
is on the increase. Civil war and conflict
still tear apart, parts of central Africa
and South Sudan. Terror in the face of
Al shabaab in the East and Boko Haram
in the West, lashing out on each other in
xenophobic attacks down South while in
the North unstable governments or no
governments at all continue to be the
order of the day. The list is endless. Africa
still bleeds. Perilous times these are.
What then holds the key to a much
needed transformation? Selfless
leadership! That is what is lacking among
our people. That is the illness that is
bringing rot to our bones; the malady for
which we need a cure.
So we ask: Is there hope or is it all
doom and gloom? No! There is a silver
lining on the thick dark clouds that
surround us. The answer lies in Daystar
- the Bright and Morning Star - Jesus
Christ. His model of leadership is what
will transform and change the face of
Africa and the world.
* doúlos
(a masculine noun of
uncertain derivation)
– properly, someone
who belongs to
another; a bondslave,
without any
ownership rights of
their own. Ironically,
/doúlos (“bondslave”)
is used with
the highest dignity in
the New Testament –
namely, of believers
who willingly live
under Christ’s
authority as His
devoted followers.
*Retrieved from http://biblehub.com/
greek/1401.htm
If you were to summarize the life of
Christ in one word, what would it be?
To describe the indescribable with just
one word is a difficult task indeed. Yet
an answer exists. Others! Others! That
was Christ’s mission statement. The Son
of man comes to seek and save others.
He came to be a ransom for others. He
taught that to be great you must be the
least; a servant; a feet washer.
That is what we need in Africa,
more feet washers, more servants.
More Doulos. Paul the Apostle of Christ
associated himself with this name; he
called himself a bond slave of Christ. He
took his marching orders from heaven.
He followed where the General led. He
walked in the footsteps of the man from
Nazareth. In his epistle to the Philippian
Church, he writes: “I am willing to spend
and be spent for you (others)…” That is
the voice of Daystar. That is the hope of
the nations. The Hope of Africa! Others
before self, Christ above all!
The challenge and answer, is to
look up and emulate the one who
gave even to the last drop of his blood.
And emulate his leadership for the
transformation of Africa, until the day
dawns and the Daystar rises in our
heart.
DaystarConnect 2015 • 15