ALL LIFE AND NO CHRIST ( Part 11)
You remember that saying that the baby snake that you think is harmless and refuse to kill today will be the one to grow and bite your child tomorrow, or so is it said. Many times, experiences of elders around us are enough for us to learn, only so that we learn from them and not make the same mistakes or fall in the same portholes they did. We have them around us for a reason, from our biological parents, to spiritual parents, to mentors, to elders generally, in the church and our environment. If only every generation would learn from the mistakes of the preceding generation, this world would surely be a better place.
Unfortunately, that isn't the case. In the ears of youths nowadays, when we are warned about actions we're about to take, we feel like we're hated and are only denied satisfaction or enjoyment and then we blindly walk into the exact mistakes our parents already warned us about. The truth is that, while its good to make mistakes and learn from them so that there isn't a repetition, it's better to learn from the mistake of others and not make them at all. However, there's something still better than learning from the mistakes of others and not repeating them, and that's having the Holy Spirit as our ally.
For me, even if I didn't listen to Paul and my mom, and I had a relationship with the Holy Spirit back then, my life would have been better off today. I thank God for my faith and the time I gave my life to Christ, but to be honest with myself, I have some regrets. I wish I was born again earlier. I wish I knew the Lord during my teenage years. I wish I had a relationship with the Holy Spirit earlier in my life, I can only imagine where I would be today. However, I have the confidence that in Christ Jesus, I'm recovering all my lost years. If you don't have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, today is the day. Don't make it one day later. He's the best teacher. He knows what will happen tomorrow and can warn you about it today. He's your best bet and will surely never disappoint you.
Let me conclude my story...
I didn't know where I was. It seemed like I was suspended and gravity lost it's effect on me. Where I was seemed like an empty space and was dirty, not beautiful at all. All of a sudden, a door opened in front of me, and I saw this man in white garment walk out of the door towards me. He was beaming with smile as he walked towards me. The closer he got, the weaker I became that I couldn't stand anymore and eventually fell on my face as he got closer still. When he got to me, I could only see his legs and yeah, that injury was there, the one He received on the cross. He lifted me up, removed the tattered clothes I was putting on and changed my clothes to one that looked like his. Then He hugged me and led me back the way He came. Just as I walked through the door, a bright light shone on my eyes and then I woke up. It was a dream.
Of course, I woke up on another bed in one of the hospital wards. It was then I remembered that I had fainted and was out for about 4 hours. I woke up with a smile that I surely was now a different person and was already recognised in the kingdom of God, but then I was in tears again because I remembered who I used to be, how much I hated Him, how much I despised Him. Yet I came back to Him and He didn't hesitate to take me back and make me His own. My mom joined in the tears and we prayed. Just after we prayed, it poped up in my head why I fainted in the first instance, Gabriel!
I was warned about him though. He was the baby snake I refused to kill and was waiting to kill my dad 20 years later. He wasn't who he said he was. His trips were actually missions of robbery and assassination. The judgement was life imprisonment and there was nothing we could do about it.
Just about 2 hours after that, my dad fully gained consciousness and was ready to be discharged but to be placed on observation for another 2 weeks. The woman and child who were innocent casualties of my old life were also discharged and after settling the bills, I also gave them a cheque of 5,000 dollars, which they appreciated.
My dear brother and sister, a very good friend of mine said, 'all life and no Christ is no life at all', and it's the absolute truth. John 1:4 says, 'in Him was life and that life was the light of men', and John 8:12, tells us that a life free of confusion can only come with Christ in it. It doesn't matter how long you have gone without Christ, it's not too late to come back to Him. Trust me, He's ever ready to receive and His arms are open wide to welcome you. Please, don't allow the devil deceive you. It may be rosy today but I can bet you, the end is destruction, and you won't like it. The devil will give you 5 naira and ask for 5 million naira in return, in fact, he will not stop until you're bankrupt.
Never go into anything, be it marriage, relationship, career, investment, or what have you, without the permission of the Holy Spirit. It's dangerous.
You have my life to learn from now so that you do not make the same mistakes, however, there's one person who can guide you through life effortlessly and joyfully, and He's the Holy Spirit.
My dad is now perfectly fine, my kids and I go to visit Gabriel in the prison who is now also born again and we're trusting that God would intervene so that he's released. And that reminds me, I got back home to meet my kids waiting for me. They went with the school bus and the hall mistress mistook my kids for someone else's who were taken home by a driver.
Remember, all life and no Christ is no life at all.
Thank you for listening. God bless you."
When I finished, and made the altar call, I'm sure I wouldn't be exaggerating to say that almost a thousand of them made a decision to follow Christ. I left that meeting fulfilled that God used my story to touch lives.
***** THE END*****
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