As I flip through pages of Newspapers. I often come across obituary announcements of men and women who had passed on to great beyond. Other medium of announcements are: word of mouth, telephone, radio, television as well as e-mail. Also you can hardly drive pass most African stores, shops and restaurants without seeing a poster of transition placed on walls, and other places of easy sights. Some of these deaths occurred in far away in motherland. What’s new and fast becoming a tradition is to hold wakes for people who died in other lands. Whatsoever spirit is behind this seems generally acceptable in our community. However, it may not be far from being there for one another.
Each time my eyes caught these transition announcements, I often curiously halt to peruse them, not because I enjoy reading about dead people or see people die but the hard lessons and truth learnt from them. Sometimes, the announcements, concerns young persons or infants, whom we may have witnessed their birth and saw them growing up, but the cruel hand of death pluck them off their roots. No thanks to death.
As I ponder pensively over the issue of death, drawn from above and daily occurrences, I come to a conclusion that in the midst of life there’s death; death is a necessary end. It’s also an open secret that death kills both young and old. It snatches a child away from the hand of caring and loving parents without notice and takes away adult when they should enjoy the fruit of their labors. Death is no respecter of persons, whether rich or poor, literate or illiterate, man or woman. Christian or pagan etc. death spears no one, and none has ever saved another from the hands of death. Most people fear and dread death, some hate even mere mention of it for reason and myth that are common place.
In the battle of life, death has always won the fight, turning parents childless and children, orphans. It has no regards for our feelings, wishes and aspirations. This is the reality of life, “Reality has no regards or our wants. There are gabs, ribs and sore spots: there are unexpected twists and sudden turns. We do not get all we want. Life sometimes is unfair. It can be “a riddle wrapped inside a puzzle: it can be random and haphazard” leaving us cry, why me, why now and why this?” But since we know it must happen to someone someday, we must be ready to face this odd event and should neither allow its occurrence to take us unawares and thought of it dribbles away the pleasant part of life.
Despite the despair, sorrow and unpleasantness associated with death, it has hard lessons to teach. We learn that life is in-permanence, we are sojourners on earth, and death is real. This brings to mind an old song titled “This world is not my own”. Young folks do not know this song because it is no longer aired or sung; it is considered old fashioned since we live in an “instant world and jet age” but it may not be irrelevant. Realizing this, King David lamented in Psalms 89:44-49 “a person glory ceases one day and his throne cast down; it shortens the days of a youth and covers him with shame. As this happens God appears to hide his face and allow wrath to burn like fire. He cried that man’s time is short and all men are vanity, every man shall die and soul delivered to grave.”
Sequel to this, in another instance King David asked God for kindness and knowledge: “teach me my end and the measure of my days; teach me how frail I am since my days are but a hand breath, my age is nothing and man at best a vapor. So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (Psalms 39:4-7& 90:12). The preciousness of life demands that we number our days. Even though life is short, if we apply wisdom, we can put a lot of living with it, for “we live in deeds not breath, in feeling not figures on dial; He lived long who live well. All else is but life flung away.” We should realize that “time deals gently with those who use it but harshly with those who abuse it.” Also “the road of bye and bye leads to the town of never” says a Spanish proverb.
Ironically and surprisingly, many exist as if they shall not die or live on earth forever. They neither care nor prepare for this inevitable event, even when it’s real and occurs someday. Many others are aware of our temporary but have lost sense of urgency and fear of the end. They appear so complacent, grown too comfortable with life and have lost sense of perspective; they dread mere mention of the word “death.” What! Prepare for death? That’s crazy. However, some prepare for it by enjoying everything today as if morrow shall not come. These groups of people squander all they worked for and make no provision for anybody, survivors, poor, orphans or even the church. They end up leaving their families racked and worst still, indebtedness. They believe in “chop today, man die go ‘morrow”.
Others prepare by buying life assurances, invest in estates, maintained fat deposits in bank account for the benefits of survivors/ immediate family. Still others prepare by seeking protection from death; getting initiated into secret societies and occults, such as: Amorc, Lodge, witchcraft, and the alkies’. Ekpe is also considered a secret society in this regard. Some of these rituals involve human sacrifices, using items of protections from harm and death such as rings, chains, etc. Some are tied to their waist, neck, hand; others hung on cars, inside the house and buried round the house. These mundane activities cost a lot of money, subject one to fetish rituals, make one live in creating false hopes. Unfortunately these preparations are only physical, temporary and do not prevent or stop death; rather make one live in fears, utopian life; do not give real/ everlasting life.
Another preparation is spiritual. God, the Creator offers life in Christ Jesus. It is fundamental, life giving, free gift and does not cost money. This way of life teaches that God created man and the whole universe. Man is a citizen of heaven, but on earth as a sorjoners. Our days on earth are very temporary and short. Man is at very best a vapor and shall die some day and soul delivered to grave; thereafter judgment. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people and no person shall see or enter heaven except one is born again or saved (John 3:3,7b: Matthew 18:3). Being saved becomes a criterion to meet, to qualify for heaven. It does not matter whether you are a Church member or a pagan, a priest or a layman, a free born or a slave, in prison; or free world, a councilor or tax collectors, black or white; nothing exonerate you from it. Born again or being saved” is way of beginning a life giving relationship with Jesus Christ, God begotten son, who died for mankind and took away our sinfulness while giving us his righteousness. Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace secured for all believers for every age by the sacrificial and substitution death on the cross (Hebrew 9:28, Acts 4:12).
By this, one accepts through confession and believes in Jesus’ death on the cross and He becomes his Savior and Lord of his life. This is necessary because God formed man in his image as a perfect person. Man was deformed by the devil that deceived man (Adam and eve) into disobeying God, thereby committed sin. Adam was the father and Eve the mother of the federation of mankind. By their sin, mankind as a whole had sinned. This sin is generic in nature and passes to every child on conception. So, in effect, every mankind is born sinful and sin result to death. The bible says that the soul that sinned must die however it is not God’s desire that any man should perish or does God take Interest in the death of a sinner. Man could not save himself; on the contrary, God’s eye neither beholds sin nor iniquities; His righteousness contends sin. For this reason, God sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to die, pay the price of sin, so that whosoever accepts this God’s provision in Christ Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). It is a free gift and does not cost money. Also you need no further qualification than “just as you are”. Whosoever shall confess with his mouth that Jesus died on the cross for the sin of the world and believe in his heart that god raised him from death, is saved (Romans 10:9-13). He has accepted Jesus as a Savior and Lord of his life. When you do this the Holy Spirit of God shall bear witness in your heart that you are saved (Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:5). It is upon this simple and straightforward means that the salvation of the whole wide world depends. It is life determined and the only sacrifice God accepts for the redemption of mankind. This preparation is very crucial because it give good life on earth thereafter eternal life in God’s kingdom. The most important security is found in Christ Jesus, the only begotten Son of God and the Giver of life. He had conquered dead, as death could not lay hold of him. He is now in heaven as the Chief Priest and the Judge. When your judge is also your counsel, then you have no case. Give Jesus a chance today and life will never be the same.