Daily Devotion for Wednesday 15th May 2024

Jesus said: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Reflection

The thief came; stole, killed and destroyed

Sometimes Zimbabweans joke saying that maybe God chose to prank Zimbabweans with the decayed part of his life;  life without deep bruises has never been a portion for an ordinary person growing up there.  For most Zimbabweans life has been a perpetual nightmare; a deep terrifying dream and a horror reality show where, in every corner that they try to take refuge, life snarls at them with cruel bloodthirsty fangs. They have many bruises: political and economic injustice, poor mental health, humanitarian crises, natural disasters, and gender based violence. Zimbabweans have been deeply hurt and have bled for a long time having been subjected to a brutal life of systemic suffering. They think they are now forgotten and the world has given them over to their predators.

In all its fullness, rich and satisfying.

Life comes from God and  contains the DNA of the Divine. To live is to be God-like. The language of life is spoken alongside the attributes of God’s overflowing creative love. The more we think of Zimbabweans’ quality and condition to be of their our own making, and not reflect on it alongside God’s life, the more we let them become entangled with the shackles of despair, hopelessness, disempowerment and alienation from others.  Powerful forces –  economic, political, spiritual, and social – seem to be guarding every escape route.

Care for those bruised by life

How should we care and support those who have never seen anything else in life other than punches and bruises from political, economic, and social injustices? People who think they have been abandoned by everyone else, even by God Himself, to die alone, at the mercy of their oppressors. They definitely need our prayers, support, presence, voices of solidarity, and any interventions that can strengthen their fainting voices and rattle the oppressive powers. They need that powerful voice of compassion as strong as that which has been raised for the people of Ukraine, Yemen, and Palestine.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, 
thank for raising your Church and people
to speak and bring balm to Ukraine, Palestine and Yemen. 
Make them stop by Zimbabwe too.
Amen