Change Your Ways

If there’s one thing that’s clear from the corona-virus crisis, it’s that our place in the world is fragile. I am calling it the great equalizer. Whether you are rich, poor, educated, illiterate, black, white, a celebrity, no one knows you exist. This disease does not discriminate. What is even more interesting is that this disease has come from the 1st world down to the third world. So what am I saying, we are all equal in the eyes of God and this pandemic is evidence of that.

There’s a brokenness in this world that existed since ancient times. Since the fall from Grace, the turning away from God in the Garden of Eden. Here, evil entered the world. Disease, death, destruction, murder and a whole list of sins is the reality of the world we live in. But God is sovereign, which means He’s in control and His greatest priority is our welfare. As a parent, when my kids make mistakes, because of the love I have for them, I will correct them. I will not allow them to continue with their bad behavior because what I am most interested in is their character. I warn them, I discipline them but they still refuse to listen. They leave me with no choice but to take drastic measures because of the love I have for them. It pains me when I see my children go astray and it is my responsibility to ensure I do my part. God loves us even more that I do my kids. How much more interested is He in our character, in who we are becoming? God created us all and as such, He has the responsibility to discipline us when we go wrong. As the Hebrews rightly tells us, the Lord disciplines those He loves.

Many are the times we have been told to repent, to change our ways, we have been rebuked but still we do not take heed, instead we harden our hearts and refuse to listen. This leaves our Maker with no choice but to take drastic measures for our own good. The message coming through from this global pandemic is that God is trying to wake us up and to say, please repent and stop sinning. There is too much blood shed! Children are being sacrificed left, right and center. Murder has become the order of the day and we have become so insensitive that it is no longer a big deal. We have tolerated sin so much and because of this we are unable to change our situation. A person shoots another at will and the next thing, we see them at a press conference taking a stand on the pandemic. He shot someone without a second thought and now you tell me he cares so much about people dying from a virus? Let’s get real people! The Lord is angry at us. We have become hypocrites of the highest order. We are pretentious in all senses of the word. We pretend to care but when rubber meets the road, it is every man for himself and God for us all. A doctor trying to flog corona test kits! A medical doctor! Surely, what have we become as a people? Is it a wonder that our Maker is upset? Is it a wonder that we are being punished? Do we know the price that was paid for our redemption? Is this how we are paying Christ back by crucifying Him yet again?

And for those of you who don’t believe in God, what do you have to hold onto now? Is the universe going to save you? What energy is coming through for you on this one? How far has your intelligence got you? You who believe that you don’t need God, how can you save yourself now? I am not speaking about religion but a personal relationship with God, with Love. This both angers and saddens me at the same time. I would like to ask you a question, if God approached you today and asked you why He should give you an extra day to live, what would you tell Him? To build a home, pay fees for your children, travel? Tell me, what would you say to Him? You were sent on this earth to solve a problem. You are an assignment! Have you discovered what your assignment is? And if not, why not? Are you even working towards finding out why you were born? You were not created to just occupy space, pay bills, grow in your career, have children and then die! No, that is not it! You were created as a solution to a problem God knew YOU are able to solve. But you are so distracted by the things you worship cars, money, riches that you don’t care much about anyone else.

I would like to implore you to seek God on behalf of this nation and the world at large. I would also implore you to ask yourself why you are here. Why am I? Am I a person God would be proud of? Am I truly walking my talk? Am I a reflection of Love? What can I do to end the pain? First my own pain and then the pain of others? Can I honestly look at myself in the mirror and embrace what/who I have become? Am I proud of the impact I have made or I am making in this world in my own small way? How can I be part of the solution to end wanton bloodshed and corruption? Who am I?

Why, if I may ask, are we not hearing appeals for repentance and prayers to be said to implore God’s mercy to end this pandemic? In my view, I think it is because we do not believe first, in a Sovereign God and secondly we think that Divine punishment DOES NOT EXIST. It is an incorrect view of Christianity. Of course, God knows and predicts events but does not determine them, is what we are saying to ourselves. God knew this was going to happen and honestly, He would have wished for a different response from us. But woe unto us! God is the Lord of history. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His consent.

Of course, the corona-virus is a punishment from God. All our sufferings are the consequence of sin for us sinners. They are a just penalty for our sin, and God has complete control over what happens and how it affects us. Both testaments of Scripture are full of examples of this.

What will your response be when God asks you what you did with the life that He so graciously gave you? His gift to you is potential. Your gift to Him is MAXIMIZING it! What are you doing with your life? Are you showing gratitude to YOUR Maker?

If you want to find out who you are, why you are here and where you are going, reach out to us and we would be privileged to walk this journey with you.