A BIRTHDAY CAKE
It was at the far away South Easter geopolitical zone in Nigeria. I travelled on this 26th day of June as the Preacher to oversee the last remains of a departed loved one in a funeral service and commit same to mother earth.
It was at the far away South Easter geopolitical zone in Nigeria. I travelled on this 26th day of June as the Preacher to oversee the last remains of a departed loved one in a funeral service and commit same to mother earth.
The corpse was lying in state before the altar in a beautiful coffin no doubt more expensive that the corpse it is holding. The preacher announced its text “HOW MUCH DOES A HUMAN CORPSE COST”? The corpse is a rare commodity. To this question, the bewildered audience was more still and cold. Tears stifled and groans muffled.
We expected with the height of achievements, dreams unfulfilled, talents laying bare, riches and wealth left as footprints, and decorations of awards and laurels, the corpse would be priceless. But it was not so! Nobody stepped out to price, not even the husband, children, brothers and sisters. even as precious and beloved as she was. That is the sad story of the human corpse.
It was reported that a research was made to ascertain the worth of a corpse as conducted by a team of erudite scientist. They noted with profound pain that nobody wants a dead body. Not even the morbid scientist whose trade is on corpses. The Anatomist declined too, the ritualist looked away because they prefer a living soul that will be killed to ensure the potent power they seek. Mortuary attendant cried out that they had no room for storage. The only place fit for it is “Dust shall thou return, because dust thou are. Gen 3:
When God removed His hand from anything like when He calls back the soul of man encased in a human body, that thing becomes worthless, a piece of nothing, less than the cheapest commodity. So sad, that with all our acclaim, a dead goat or animal, anything and everything is worth more than a dead man. Scramble will follow a dead cow at an accident scene but the dead human will be isolated untouched. The more reason I suppose people wail for the departed but if he dies in Christ, his maker, he smiles home to eternal rest because his soul was the dwelling place of his creator, the Holy Spirit. What a contradiction at birth, when only the child cries and every person rejoices and welcomes the new born with warm hands. How mysterious life is, a riddle only God can interpret.
So what do we really worth? What is all this our pride for, the boasting and the ego? Yes, we must attain, we must aspire but we must know that our body without the soul in it’s place with the Holy Ghost is absolutely a nonentity. Jesus sounded it clear “what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? It is said that seven worlds put together cannot equal the single soul of a man.
The things that matters most must never be at the mercy of the things that master least: The central place of every heart, the soul is the recording chamber and control tower. You can enable it to receive messages of eternal life, beauty, hope, courage, salvation so long as your self will permits it as a free moral agency or you decide that it be covered with the snow of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then you will fade away.
The preacher pressed on his funnel requiem with the motive to draw men out to recognize the essence of eternal value in the death of Jesus Christ for a new birth. It was not partying time, it wasn’t a child naming ceremony, it was stock taking time, an inventory into our past so far in our sojourn on earth. A time to deduce if our assets out weigh our liabilities, all of which are vanity except the Holy Spirit in the soul, the real assets that will never see corruption.
The value of a man’s life does not lie in the number of years he has spent but in the depth and richness of that life to everyone who encountered him. Challenges comes, (even the challenge to accept God’s grace) to measure us and prepare us until the mettle of our heart is ready for the mantle of salvation from our Savior Jesus Christ. Our life takes a turn downward when we loose the vision of where we are headed. Visions put trials in context Trials of life most times squeeze us and make us distraught and we cannot cool the burning kiss of thirst on our lips or shade from the scorching fury of the sun at those moment, remember, great legacies are forged in such times. Apostle Paul wrote most of his epistles in the prison with blinding eyes until he wrote through his co-laborers. the book of Revelation came up while John was exiled to the Island of Patmos; The glorious message of grace was birthed in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross for humanity gain..
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talents. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ don’t give up’ will always solve the problems of the human race. We could do much more if we didn’t have to restrict ourselves to only a few options afforded us by all the voices of respectable men who ascribe to themselves the roles of gods by determining our limits and telling us some things cannot be done.
Seek and you will find, the Lord admonished. Knock and the door will be opened. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, it is the honor of man to search it out. That search is the reason we are all here. That search will define our lives and our place in this world and the positional placing in the body of Christ. Our honor is bound to it. We may rise or fall, but we don’t quit. Life is not a victory match, it’s a pursuit. The more of it we achieve the better men we become, the better world we create, and our hope for eternal glory. Not all legends are about victories, some are about blood, sweat and courage in the arena.
The preacher began to wind down as he exhorts and admonishes. We have hope and life is about hope. Some people come to the end of their lives unhappy men. They wish they had led a different life, explored more, believed God, baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and ultimately filled with the spirit of Christ instead of the spirit of the church or some other man or spirit. So many are unable to realize their true potential because they are locked in the matrix of fear, doubt, want and darkness. So they are unable to take the critical first steps because of their mind-sets that impose limits or superstition or worst still school boards that grade them into a state of low self esteem.
The people who will read this birthday cake will either love it and take steps to take control of their live or hate it and toss it away in anger. I do not expect ambivalence. The message is brutally honest in application and they cut through the chase right to the heart of the matter.
Yes! Oh yes friend! All identity of this and that is lost at death. Every tag drops. Naked we came, and naked we appear before our maker. The only question that will matter then is not the degrees or certificates and a host of others, fame, money and women, but did you receive the gift God offered you – the Holy Spirit?
Be your own man. Challenge assumptions and deeply held beliefs, question traditions. Don’t be afraid of what you will find out. Fear indeed, the cursed darkness of ignorance that could blight your life and make you a dispensable pawn in the chess game of life. Fight one more round for the truth that will set you free. Remember that the man who always fight one more round is never whipped. Samson proved it. Judges 16. The world doesn’t want you to find your own answers, they would rather you believe the answers they find for you. The Bible holds the answer to all of life and death questions and the beyond.
We sang one more song at the grave side. Till we meet, till we meet again, till we meet at Jesus feet. Vanity was interred, as the dust tumbles in to cover the very rich casket and wreath. We came with her to the cemetery but we returned with her. It was all over, her page was closed. so our beloved sister will lay cold and still in the darkness of the night of death until the resurrection morning. Death is separation! May her soul rest in hope. May the living turn a new page into a life of Christ. Amen. A BIRTHDAY CAKE IS SERVED.. The human corpse is worth just $0.17 cents or Thirteen Naira.
THE ORACLES OF GOD IS THE MESSAGE OF GOD.
THE ORACLES OF GOD IS THE MESSAGE OF GOD.
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