LIFE

Life is a gift of God. It is the breath of the Almighty, and as such ought to be used and preserved carefully because it is as holy as the Giver. Would you ill-use the gift of a king? I guess not. I believe you will cherish it and hand it down to your heirs as a glory to your family. And so, I ask, why should you continue to ill-use your life, the holy gift of God to you, and a gift of Himself. Your life is the reason you are said to be alive, it is what animates your body, and it is a talent given to you by your Father who is in Heaven to trade with on Earth. And at the end of your sojourn on earth, you will give God an account of what you were able to achieve with His gift of life to you.

God as our Creator has, from time immemorial, by Himself, through the prophets and through the teachings of the Church, given us simple but holy instructions on how we should use the gift of life He has given us, but again and again, we have erred. We have chosen to ignore and disobey Him, using our lives the way it pleases us. We have so much abused the life and humanity in us by our persistent refusal to do the will of God on earth that we have practically replaced the image of God in us with that of the Evil one. We have sold our birth right and heritage to the Enemy of life through our disobedience to the Author of life, and for this we suffer. We have become dead souls in living bodies, as our disobedience has strangled and killed the gift of life in our humanity. We have become beautiful sepulchers, and like fools in a smoke-filled room with an open window, we languish in pain and misery in our disobedience, while staring at the offered hand of Life itself.

If we desire the true peace and happiness of the free, we must return to our Root. We must open our hearts to the Word and obey the immutable laws of God. And it is only in our obedience that we will find peace and fulfillment else we labor in vain. We will not survive if we are not connected to the Source of Life, for cut off from Him, we can do nothing good. We must of necessity give fresh blood to the worn-out life which is languishing within us on account of our disobedience by living as we ought; as children of God, else we continue to live miserable lives and also suffer eternal death. We must choose to begin again, as every day, every hour, and every minute is another opportunity, a grace of God for us to reconcile with Life in order to have life.

Our human life has no end because it originates from God who is eternal. So, life does not end with the falling of the flesh (death) because the soul, which is the life in us, does not die, it only dies to its destiny due to sin. Thus the soul survives to eternal happiness or eternal damnation according to how we have chosen to live. If we persevere in goodness, we shall reach the perfection of living by becoming eternal, perfect and blissful like our Father, and this is our destiny. In the same vein, if we chose to persevere in wickedness and sin, we shall inherit eternal death which is to be denied the presence of God forever, and this is when we can say a soul is dead, because it has lost its destiny of eternity with God. Know that the choice of life eternal or eternal damnation is the right of every human being, for God in His perfection does not impose Himself on us. He is holy and generous enough to allow us to choose to love Him, or not to, but in justice, He will demand an account from every soul for the use and abuse of the gift of life through his or her life choices. 

Since we are the perfection of creation, we have an obligation to God who created us in His image and gave us authority over the whole of creation. We owe Him love, honor and respect in His holy commands, and it is our duty and responsibility to oversee the earth for His glory. And if the animals, the plants and all other elements in creation obey the Creator in their own peculiar ways, why are we in perpetual disobedience? Why must we continue to hate ourselves so much? For whenever we offend God due to our sin and wickedness, we succeed only in weakening and injuring our spirits, the life of God in us, and for this we will suffer pain and calamities. There is no human intelligence that can successfully overturn what God has mandated and or survive such attempt, it is a futile and wasted effort, and the consequences is death.

Life is a gift of God for which we must be grateful. We must not insult God by misusing the life He gave us, soiling it with evil deeds which essentially dishonor the image of God in us. He commanded us to love Him above everything and to love one another. This is the will of God for each and every one of us and it will never change. We obey to our merit and happiness, and we disobey to our ruin. No matter the state of our human development, if we refuse to grow in holy obedience to the will of our father who is in heaven, all our achievements will come to naught, and like the Tower of Babel, we will build up and the Lord will pull down, we will labor but in vain, and instead of becoming superhuman with our obedience, we will become demons in our disobedience. Know that the duty to obey is the price we pay for the gift of life, and this duty is imposed on all of us no matter our name, color, gender or position in life. And just as this gift of life is personal to each and every one of us, so also our response is at our personal merit or ruin. 

But as a community, we either rise together or fall together, and this is why it is said that the fall of a people is always as a result of congregation of the collective faults of the community and which must take place as a consequence of their stubbornness and refusal to amend their ways despite the patience of God. When as a people we consistently refuse to acknowledge and honor God with our obedience, He will strike us at His own time and in His own way to remind us and others of our nothingness. But this is not the will of God for us; it is His response to our sin and wickedness, for in our transgressions, we wander far from Him. So, my friends, we have an obligation not to live as our human nature wants us to but as the Spirit want because we are children of the Spirit.

As children, we must not insult our parents through behaviors that fling mud at their white hair and causes sorrow to their last days. They are the first God we know, and we owe them love, honor and respect. We must not hurt those who assist us, so that we may not be cursed for the love we tread upon. We must not abuse or fight those who govern us, because it is not by rebelling against rulers that countries become great and free, but it is through the holy life of the citizens that we can obtain the assistance of the Lord who can touch the hearts of rulers or remove them from their places or even from life. He alone is able.

Husbands, do not abuse or hurt your wives. Love and care for them for you are the priest, prophet and king of your home, and as a hired hand, you will give an account to the Master. If by your attitude you have become a symbol of fear and terror before your wife and children, you are a bad steward who has failed his master. In the same way your wife and children should love, honor and support you as head of your family, because it is their duty to do so, just as it is your duty to love and care for them. If in your pride and selfishness you chose to lord it over them because you are the head, be warned that the seed you have sown will bear its evil fruits and many will partake of it including yourself. But the love and affection you owe your wife and children should always be subject to your love for God. 

Wives, cherish and honor your husbands. Do not become another Eve. Sadly, many wives have become the nemesis of their husbands, the reason for their failings and failures. The vice of pride has turned many wives into opponents and competitors of their husbands, and the selfish desire to belong has turned many wives against their husbands to the detriment of families and the society. The pains of childbearing and the cries of children are no longer sufficient reasons for many women to remain wives and mothers, whereas only in this you will find your fulfillment as a woman. Every other achievement is cosmetics, a flash in the pan. Is your spouse wicked, has he become a weakling or a beast? Are you sure that you did not contribute to the situation at hand, then bear your cross with faith, patience and humility, and let God be the judge. He is faithful to those who are faithful.

Parents, do not abuse the innocence of your children in anyway whatsoever. Bring them up with the love and fear of God. Live holy in the eyes of those who, both because of their love and of their duty, consider you the person who is to be the example of their lives. We cannot sever or separate our holiness in respect of our close neighbor from our holiness towards God, because one germinates the other. Our neglect or failure to love our neighbor is a failure to love God, and your first neighbor is those with whom you share the same bread and roof. You cannot choose to seek God outside if you refuse to see Him in those around you. Remember that you are the first God of your children, and so, be very careful what you teach them with your attitude. You shall be held accountable for every soul you mislead or set on a wrong path of life by your attitude and behavior. You are the bible many people will read, and your voice, the gospel many people will hear and encounter. So, be careful.

Be just with your friends for friendship is a kinship of the soul. Woe to those who pollute and betray friendship by turning it into selfishness, treason, vice or injustice. Be not another Cain, for too many are those who say I love you just to find out their friend’s business and exploit the information to their own benefit and to the ruin of others. Too many are those who usurp the rights of their friends and even their blood brothers, be not another Cain, for you may not know the extent of the damage of your betrayal. Be honest. Be honest with all, from the highest judge, who is God and cannot be defrauded or deceived through hypocritical practices to the intimate judge, that is, your conscience. Unfortunately, many have already drowned their conscience in the sea of sin and wickedness that they can no longer hear its voice or they pretend not to hear, God is calling you.

The weakness of your brother is not an excuse for your wickedness. Let God be the judge. That because it has become the norm cannot stand before the justice of God. And if you cannot beat them, do not join them for the holiness of one soul is sufficient to save a nation while the wickedness of a multitude plunges a nation to disaster. Remember Abraham and Sodom? Be the light in the darkness around you, be the Abraham of your Sodom and be the Noah of your generation, for as the saying goes, one with God is always in majority, and who can be against you when the Lord is with you. He said, if you acknowledge me before men, I will acknowledge you before my father in heaven, and God is faithful to His word.

Be honest in buying and in selling, remembering that we must not do to others what we would not like done to ourselves. The money given to you in exchange for goods or services is often wet with perspiration and tears, for we are all poor in one way or another, and you do not know how much grief it costs, how much sorrow and pain there is behind that money. So, be careful not to incur the wrath of God on account of the hardness of your heart in your business enterprise. Why are you honest when dealing with the rich and powerful whereas you take advantage of the poor and defenseless? God curses such, because the tears squeezed out of the poor by your wickedness cry to the Lord with the same voice as the blood drained from the veins of a man by a murderer. Know that wealth that is accumulated through deceit and hardness of heart will fizzle out like water in a broken pot. Live not for what you think you have, but use what you have to live for God and neighbor for your peace and happiness. Try to be honest in all things, for honesty is a sign of humility, and God is close to the humble. 

Be honest in your looks, as you are in your words and deeds. A look given to those who do not deserve it, or denied to those who do deserve it, is like a noose and a dagger. The look denied to a poor relative or to a friend fallen into poverty is like a dagger that pierces the heart of an unhappy person, while a look given to those who do not deserve it is a noose that may drag you down. Enemies are to be forgiven and loved, at least with our souls, if our bodies refuse to love them on account of their injuries to us. But have you ever hurt anyone? Are you sure that your deeds are not also crying out for vengeance. Let God be the judge, and remember that He sees and knows all your secrets. Try and forgive for forgiveness is love of the spirit and not a weakness. Moreover, He said we should always forgive. And I dare to ask, when was the last time you told someone, you are sorry? 

When was the last time you said sorry to God for your weaknesses and your wickedness? Oh, you think that is not necessary because God understands. You have been very busy lately as you have so much on your plate right now. Really? Mind you, the only difference between you and the beggar by the road side is the heavy weight of your own sin which is killing your soul secretly and your persistent nightmares. God is calling you. He asks nothing from you but love for Him and your neighbor. He is always ready to forgive and to forget, just as He asks you to forget the past and start afresh. Not to take revenge is also love of the spirit; it is a sign of growth, charity at work and not a weakness. Let God be the judge.

We must love and assist the needy. It is not sufficient to throw a piece of bread at them and pass by scornfully or pamper them with gifts at a particular time because we have been told to go and give alms or because it is Christmas. The offering of bread serves for the starving, naked and homeless body, but the giver that smile in his offering, who takes an interest in the tears of the unhappy fellow, is bread for his heart. We must learn to give offerings and not alms, and we must learn not exploit our servants, workers and neighbors. For even if the world is unaware of the theft committed in the secrecy of our hearts and homes, against our unaware neighbors, wives and husbands, God is aware of everything and we shall give an account of our stewardship to Him. So, be careful. Be very careful how you deal with the humble, the innocent and those who are good or have been good to you, they have God as a friend, and who can contend with God.

How much and what you have is of no consequence, but your willingness to share even from the little you have. Everybody has a need, and it is only God who can supply. So, nobody is so rich that he does not need anything, and nobody is too poor that he cannot give anything, everybody is in need of something, and everybody can give something. But put not your hope on what you have or on any man, but on the Lord who provides. Bear this in mind so that you may not be disappointed and forced to lose focus, and so be trapped by the evil one whose sole aim is to separate souls from God through sin. Pride is a disease of the spirit; it blinds the soul from seeing and acknowledging God and to focus attention on self. So, humble yourself in whatever situation you have found yourself, for more often than not, if it was not by grace, it is by treachery, and Lucifer wants you to be where he is, so resist him.

Take note that your health, that you can see, hear and move around is a grace. That the water you drink, the air you breathe, the freedom you have to go and to come as it pleases you, the food you eat, the wellbeing of your loved ones and acquaintances, and all that exist and are available to you are all gifts of God to make your life meaningful and pleasant. So, be grateful to Life for the gift of your life, be grateful to God for the joy of family life and professional life, and do not abuse the generosity of the giver, for your life is not your own. God is so good that when you live as a child of God through holy obedience to the will of your father who is in heaven, your life will become an example to many. You will become a garden that has plenty water, because your source is Life itself. You will bear beautiful fruits in due season for your joy and for the glory of your father and Creator. 

Learn to be grateful to God and to the neighbors that God has used to make life bearable for you. Be grateful to God for grace and mercy, for the gift of your life and for all that you have and are. But when was the last time you offered thanks to God for His goodness and mercy upon you? Or do you think you have nothing to be grateful for. Are you better than those dying this very moment, those losing their sight or been told that they can never walk again? Why are we so good in asking, demanding, complaining and commanding God for nothing and for everything, but very ungrateful for the benefits we have received. For many of us, God is relevant only when all our efforts have failed or when we are confronted with difficulties and fearful situations, while for many others, He is totally irrelevant even though they wear the garment of Christians. And so I ask you, where are you before God? Are you a child of God by name or in reality? 

The scripture says that whoever obeys the words of God will live, and whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. And I do believe that if you should acknowledge the Lord as the owner of your life, He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. He will cover you with His holy presence, and no evil will strike you by day or by night, and you will look and see how the wicked are punished. As you have made the Lord your defender through your obedience and the Most High your protector through your faithfulness, no disaster will strike you, and no violence will come near your home. For God in His faithfulness will put His angels in charge of you, to protect you wherever you go, for He has said, ‘I will save those who love me, and I will protect those who acknowledge me as God’. So, I urge you, acknowledge the Lord in humble obedience to His will as the Author and Finisher of your life and it shall be well with you.

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