LIVING RIGHT
Memorise: whosoever is born
of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God. 1 John 3:9
A child of God is the light of the world. Light is the
direct opposite of darkness. Everybody welcomes light with a shout of joy.
Where there is light, hidden agendas are revealed. Jesus expects us to prove
Him right by living according to His description of us. The implication of
being called a child of God is that you should cease to live in sin. The most
painful experience a Christian could have is for someone to look at you and
say: “And you call yourself a child of God!” unbelievers know that they are not
children of God, but they expect a life that is compliant with your confession
as a child of God.
Some of us have forfeited many things we could have
legitimately fought for, because we do not want anybody to say: “And you said
you are a child of God”. I recall the death and burial of the late founder of
the Redeemed Christian Church of God. The senior pastors suspected that I was
going to be his successor even though nobody had officially said so. They waged
war against me. On my part, I prepared for battle by loading myself with some
mathematical calculations and putting together some Bible passages I could use
as arrows. I was ready for a total showdown spiritually. Along the way, the
Lord began to speak to me. He said to me, “As a son of the Prince of Peace, are
you supposed to fight?” That was the end of my plan to fight my detractors.
Living holy costly. But the consequence of not living holy is too terrible to
be compared to the cost. It may be hard to remain faithful to your spouse or
abstain from sex before marriage. People would mock and dismiss you as being
old-fashioned. But when weight against the awful result of immoral living, such
as the likelihood of contracting HIV/AIDS
and the consequent perpetual regret, holiness at any cost would be better
appreciated.
The Almighty God is not going to change His standard
for anyone. He commands us to comply but leaves us to decide. Jesus never
advised any of those who hesitated to follow Him to first go home and think about
issue. They had to decide there are then. Self-denial is a basic qualification
for discipleship, and it involves fasting and praying when others are sleeping,
and studying the Bible while others want to spend time on leisure. It also
entails keeping quite while others are talking or engaging in frivolous
past-times.
Prayer point
Father, help me to use
self-denial as a required daily sacrifice for living right.
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