Reading this story on the Guardian UK website sent cold chills down my spine. How in the world did that happen? What exactly happened and why would a church, built for people, lay desolate, up to the point that it is now an arena for sporting events. Isn’t this very sad?
Bringing it back home, Nigeria is a bubbling country when it comes to anything that has to do with religion. How genuine we are with professing religion, I, however, cannot say. A number of people say it is all pretence. I leave that aspect to God, but the fact is that a lot of us in this part of the world are simply lukewarm.
Be that as it may, Christianity remains a dominant religion in this part of the world, but if you look at it critically, this is exactly how it was in most parts of Europe 200 to 300 years ago and today, things are a lot different.
What am I driving at?
There is nothing stopping a similar occurrence from happening here, if we are not watchful. This is, indeed, the purpose of this post. We all need to stay vigilant if we don’t want all the wonderful edifices built by churches to become museums in future!
I believe someone will say God forbid, it is not our portion. To that, I say a BIG Amen, but I also encourage such a person to go and find out the history of the European churches that you know, talking about fathers of faith who feared God and were ready to die and many indeed died for the faith. So, it’s not about wishful thinking, but acting with bold conviction and absolute reliance of his will.
What you should be doing?
1. Get your children and young wards to understand that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
The devil wants to catch them young, so, he is making it “unfashionable” to go to church or mention anything God. The fastest way to become popular is to become a full-body tatooed superstar and the society will be super excited and will pay you big time for your time.
I, honestly, feel for Children of today because, they are over exposed – the most you can do for them is to guide them and keep praying for them.
2. Regulate Internet Usage
The Internet could either be used for good or bad, depending on the person’s involved and the context. One big mistake we make is allowing our minds to consume every single information that crops up on the Internet. No, no, no, no! If that has been your strategy, then, you’ve got to change that – some information are better in the trash and not in your mind.
3. Don’t allow anything to question the Authority of God
What is happening today is that a lot of people are beginning to question God’s authority for a number of reasons – maybe due to multiple tragedies or a new research published that claims that the world was not created or another discovery that backs up the claim that man evolved and was not created as the Bible teaches. It could be anything, but the fact is that you must not allow anything to question God’s sovereignty in your life.
4. Keep telling others about the Love of Jesus
The Lord gave us a great commission which is that we should go into the world and preach the gospel to all Nations. What is now playing out in the UK, is the result of not following through on this command. How else can you explain that the European continent, that served as the headquaters of the Christian faith for centuries, would see its Christian faithful diminish over the years and from what I gather, churches in Europe are now synonymous to old people’s homes because, they are the ones you will find there the most.
May the good Lord help the church to leave up to its responsibility as the salt of the earth, in Jesus name, Amen!
