Christian Living

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Jesus Christ died for us all no matter whom or what we are. His death was motivated by God’s love for us that He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins. His death was the reconciliation we needed to God.

We are living in the days of sin. There is no sobriety in anything anymore. People sin and try to rationalize what they are doing. It is now a question of how well they can argue issues out. Pre-marital sex, divorce, homosexuality, corruption etc reign high on the list of social ills that society now embraces and sadly, some Christians too. The question however is for those who have remained true to Christianity , are we willing to die for our course in speech, action and convictions? In the book of Nehemiah we see how he was willing to do anything to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. For the love of his people and his nation, Nehemiah decided to do something about it.

As the king’s cupbearer he had the privilege of being next to the power centre but when a messenger arrived to see him, he left what he was doing to give him an ear. How many people have you listened to in your Christian walk? In the opportunities that surround you and responsibilities that you have been bequeathed, have you used these to benefit anyone else? How many people have you lifted out of their miseries? Great people are never remembered by the lives that they led but by the deposits that they left in others. Mother Teresa is one such person amongst many others but Christ takes the mantle because he went a step further and laid his life down for us all.

The early Christians in the book of Acts 2:42-47 gave us pointers of what they learnt from the master himself; that we may share what we have with those that do not have and that all may be taken care of and not be in lack. No matter how pious or holy we might want others to see us, if we do not take care of those in our midst who are deprived, then we fail miserably at Christianity. Love is not found in us.

Nehemiah sat down and wept, then he fasted and prayed to God for some days (Nehemiah 1:4). That was how much he loved his people, they meant something to him and the state of the walls of Jerusalem emaciated them in his eyes; their deprivation was his own. As Christians, we need to break up all strongholds that make it impossible for us to embrace and love our brethren. We need Christ at the core of our lives because only he can help us with the process of transformation; only he can bless us beyond ourselves that we may be able to share what we have with others. Let us be humbled into accepting that not everything that we are blessed with is meant for us; we are but custodians whom God has entrusted with wealth and should therefore bless others who are deprived.

Many people have been corrupted by power. We even have seen self-confessed Christians who change into chameleons the minute they walk down the corridors of power. Suddenly they acquire a taste of dancing to the tune of personal glory. They forget their God and Provider, Jehovah Jireh. Nehemiah did not let this happen to him despite his close proximity with the king. He was willing to step out of his job to help his people. We too should make decisions that seek to please God and not man.

Nehemiah heard about Jerusalem and decided to do something about it. As Christians we too need to be at the fore-front of action. We need not idle around and hope that things will happen on their own. If society is riddled with ills, it is our duty and calling to see how we can be involved in reversing this situation. When Christ found traders in the temple, he did not ask anyone else to deal with it; he picked up a whip and drove them out himself.

Jesus Christ is our focus because he lived by example. It is from him that we learn how to be like him so that we too can be called the sons of God and with him as our firstborn, inherit the kingdom of God with him.

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