Living a life of Convictions
I read an interesting story a few months ago about a young Somali woman named Halima Aden. Halima was born in Kakuma refugee camp and relocated to the US when she was only six years old. Halima first made headlines in 2016, when she was the first woman to wear a hijab – a headscarf worn by many Muslim women in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant. She began her successful career as a model when she was just 19! Since then she has appeared on the cover of British Vogue and on runways at New York Fashion Week, a fete many women of her age dream of. At 23 years of age at what many would think would be the peak of her career…Halima announced that she was saying goodbye to her career as a top model, saying she prioritizes “deen (religion) over Dunya (world). And now she has set the terms of her contract that anybody who wants to work with her must accept that she wears her hijab and respect her religion.
What boldness!!! As I read her story, I was tempted to raise a finger, criticize and ask where on earth will we get such believers who are bold enough to walk away from the fame, the spotlight and the money because they choose Jesus over the world. It is easy to read bout Halima because she has been in the spotlight but her story gives me hope to be quite frank that there still exists a remnant of young people that think differently and live differently from the culture of the day. Take for example the likes of Mary Slessor, CT Studd, William Branham, Amy Carmichael, Gladys Alyward, Lillias Trotter, David Livingstone, Samuel Zwemer, if you don’t know anything about these people I suggest you pause reading this article and research about them. These are young men and women that went against the culture of their day to follow a path that was seemingly futile in the eyes of men. They chose to follow God. To go to lands that are disease infested, cannibalistic, name it, to ensure that the people know about what Jesus did for them.
They believed in a cause that they were willing to give up the comfort to embrace a new language, new foods and possibly death in the bid to save at least one of these. Before you think…that is so 19th Century you can read about a young 26 year old man named John Chau who was killed by a remote Indian tribe in 2018. His mission was to introduce the Gospel to what media houses report as the last known uncontacted tribe. His mission to many would be labelled as a failure. His story garnered a lot of positive and negative criticism but what was inspiring to me was the fact that John was consumed with the vision to reach that tribe with the Gospel even if he knew it would cost him his life. My question is what consumes you? I believe that in our generation, there are many more Mary Slessors and John Chaus, young people who would dare move against the grain of the world, give up their ambitions for something greater.
I know you have it in you. A discontentment that says I am made for more than this. The glitz and the glam look appealing but deep down you know there is so much more. A desire to influence and be a change agent but you question how that can be when everything else seems to be pointing at the opposite direction. The world has sold us a lie and unfortunately many young people have bought into it. Success has been labelled as having a perfect body, money, riches, wealth and fame etc. You and I need to connect with Jesus the greatest Influencer of all time. An adventure awaits you far beyond your wildest imagination. Where you begin to develop a sense of purpose and the reason for your existence is finally known. There in that space you experience freedom – true freedom, not as the world gives but freedom that comes only in Jesus. Are you ready to take the next step?
Philomenah Maina is serving in missions with ACTIVATE Kenya as a mobilizer and trainer.
