Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela will be buried at his village today after a week of activities that saw among other things the visit of over 80 heads of state to South Africa to mourn and celebrate his life.
I can’t possibly add anything else to all that has been said about this man and his life. Most have looked at his life from the angle of what good he did in his life time. A few have looked at his time as the leader of the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC) and the things the wing did then.
A lot of people have been moved by the celebration of his life and how it seems to show that the world loved him.
As a part of this show of affection, Bono the popular American Singer said something that caught my interest in the recent publication by Times magazine about the man Mandela. He said he thinks it is Mandela’s “lack of peity” that allowed him to achieve the success he had. That statement got me thinking.
When it is our turn to bow out of this world, what legacy do we want to live behind? Is it just the one that has earthly value alone or both earthly and eternal value?
We do need to love our fellow men and seek their good and if it depends on us ensure that things that have long term benefits are done for them. It is laudable to be seen as such a person. One may even receive accolades from the world but all these without participating in the salvation of Jesus Christ is nil.
Africa has lost a man that the world respected that is a very true statement. Can another be found? Yes if the rest choose to do that which is right for the people in general.
Christmas
December 26, 2013 by Jide Ajayi • Life •
The christmas season for this year has come and is now gone. The holiday mood and feel is probably still there but in the scope of the fun things people remember about Christmas, the fun is all over.
So what will you remember about this Christmas? This christmas like every other christmas before it has one main message and purpose. This purpose is to remind us that Christ came when he was born as a baby by his mother Mary and he grew and lived among us and when the due time came, he was crucified and was buried and on the third day he rose again and the God accepted his sacrifice as the payment for our sins before him that we no longer need to pay it ourselves.
Jesus was born so that he may die. He lived so that he may become a sacrifice. A selfless sacrifice strong enough to remove the curse that was our lot.
Christmas is an opportunity to think about how God sees sin. Sin is such a big deal that God became man. It is not about what we think is sin and what is not sin, we probably can not be trusted to define sin as our perception of what is sin is not fixed if the global worldview of human behavior is to be sampled or believed.
This Christmas like those that came before and those that will still come gives us the opportunity to reflect on the love of God for us. That God would stoop so low to the point of being made lower than angels that we may not perish.
While we wonder about the gifts we did not get, the visit we did not make , the delicious meal we did not eat, we need to spare a thought for the God that so loved us that made Christmas possible.
This is what makes a beautiful Christmas!