The knowledge of God gives you the strongest position in any circumstance and whatever must be accomplished can be done but only if we are in agreement with God. There must be the urgent realization that we are indeed products with a purpose. God never intended that we should be here to wander without direction. Our purpose relates to peculiar problems God needs to be solved by each. Even the most identical twins did not come to address the same problems. Not only did we come to solve a problem, but the problem is also geographically predefined. It is sad that many seek to redefine the geography of their purpose. If God wanted me to be an American then I would be an American. God already gave me the best option – I am a Nigerian. You cannot be an individual with impact until you solve the problem God sent you to solve.
The Bible is the blueprint to all of life’s problems … the foremost constitution that lays the fundamentals and the basis of which the nation state and citizens are organized …that which determines how all actors should relate. The answers to life’s situation can be found therein.
As a youth, I did not understand many things and wanted to fix many things … I did not understand inequality, underperformance and the reasons for squalor and dilapidation … and saw many wrongs in need of solution. Impact is suggestive of influence …how influential have we been for God. How do we make Christianity influential again? How do we shun mediocrity again? We are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We lose the profoundness of that injunction found in Matthew 5.
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
It sounds so pedestrian, but the Christian reads this and moves on … still God expects us to live out this basic demand for accountability. To keep us in focus, there are Bible protagonists we can learn from … actors in the word of God who responded properly to the challenges, perils and contradictions … and in these can be found principles that can be applied to a billion other cases. I understand that the word of God is so powerful – sharper than any two-edged sword…let us look first at Abraham.
Abraham taught that nothing anyone can give us compares to what God can. The carnal Lot made a choice for the greenery bordering Sodom. Abraham rejected the goods of Sodom …not even a thread lest thou should say that thou hast made Abraham rich. There is a choice all must make – are we following God or mammon? This tension still continues. Many Christians have corrupted the high impact life by whose gift they took. A few chapters later we see the destruction of Sodom. Gifts can come in any form … we cannot be light if we are bowing at the altar of corruption. God want us to live the prayer that we pray. Corruption has made Africa the most underperforming of continents despite all its endowments. Haggai said consider your ways … Nigeria is waiting for the Christians who should be the light to become the light. Isaiah captured it well “In the last days the mountain of the Lords house will be established and men will flow into it from all nations … for out of Zion shall go forth the law …” The Church will decree and have influence in government … we are meant to be Legislators.
Alas, but Christians legislate for gains i.e. cars, homes and substance of things possessed. The lowest vision focuses on the belly and this is sadly where most reside today. An inferior belly vision obscures true purpose and obstructs a high-impact life. Solomon had unmatched wealth and called it all vanity or a vexation of spirit. Many have turned purpose to a low vision of acquisition … May we be Christians with character …
Nehemiah, a man who while others were in Babylon as slaves, was in a privileged position but who got a message that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and unlike other Governors, Nehemiah refused the perquisites of office but faced the task of rebuilding the walls. What broken-down wall really matters to you now? Is it the wall of your bank account or your need for another car or do you observe the spoilage in your community …are you burdened for the corruptions and dilapidations around you? What have you been sent to and made a determination to solve?
How about Daniel who said … no way to partake in the delicacies of the palace… How about Esther who could have said I am no longer Jewish now I am the bride of the King. Instead, she understood destiny matters and said “If I perish I perish…” Daniel said even assuming God does not save us … so let it be.
The set time to favor our nation has come, but God is waiting for the remnant to make it happen. Will God continue to be a Sunday plus midday fix or will you see yourself as a solution and ask God to send you as an arrow – a weapon to use in rebuilding a waste place somewhere …to solve a problem in your sphere of influence. God will redeem this land or will have to apologize to many other nations given all the blessings …we are so blessed and beloved but like Ephraim we can squander it … God forbid.
Edited from a message given at The Redeemed Christian Church of God – Apapa Family (Nigeria) Excel Program by Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili
Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili is a chartered accountant. She was a co-founder of Transparency International,serving as one of the pioneer Directors of the global anti-corruption body based in Berlin, Germany. She served as Federal Minister of Solid Minerals and then as Federal Minister of Education during the second term presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. She also served as the Vice President of the World Bank’s Africa division. She presently consults to many nations all over the world in highest level government advisory roles. Glory be to God
