Connecting with the Cross

1Cor. 1: 18 “For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

We study and work hard so as to become somebody in our society. Those in sports train very hard to excel, while others in one form of vocation or the other strive daily for success and recognition.

I grew up on Lagos Island faced with a lot of challenges, one of which was the tendency to join the “young dads” fad of my generation then. This was characterized by teenage boys fathering children. I actually had a girlfriend of my age at 14-15 and there was no tactic on earth she did not device to lure me into having more than just a platonic relationship with her. But I was very scared of becoming a dad at that age because that would have heralded the genesis of my eternal poverty- since I had a materially unimpressive background.

Scared of throwing my future away, I always meditated on the long treks from Obalende to Ebute-Elefun in the rain, sun, etc. for six years in order to acquire primary education. I remembered the trust my teachers had in me, my stubbornness to want to be at school even when I was very sick, etc. I was ambitious, focused and not even sickness could deter me from going to school everyday. At that young age, my mind was already made up to have nothing less than a University education- not even Polytechnic!

At the secondary school level, I raised my ambition one step higher by clearly telling myself that I would not settle for a University that was not First Generation! So how did I see my class notes? They were the key to my future, “messages” against illiteracy, poverty and timidity. For many of my friends who saw such class notes as foolishness, they fell by the wayside ending up as social miscreants, a.k.a “area boys.” Some with fairly rich parents actually got “smuggled” abroad and either turned out fine or worse as it were.

When I obtained my M.Sc in 1988, it was very difficult for a graduate without the right connections to get a job no thanks to the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). This was the “Andrew checking-out” era and I tried desperately to leave Nigeria- many of my friends succeeded in leaving and despite my having a blood brother in the UK, I could not even afford to apply for a visa! A secondary school mate who could not even pass the school cert exam went into 419 and became very rich- shuttling abroad was therefore a ritual for him.

On January 19, 1992, I became a disciple of Jesus Christ. As a young Christian, I was inspired by many scriptures one of which was 2Cor.4:18- “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” I must confess that my worldly ambition did not transcend a University degree. I did not even know what I wanted to be with a University degree! At the point when I was met by Lagos Christian Church, my goal was to relocate to the UK even though I was already in employment. But then I was really helped by very open disciples who made 2Cor.4:18 have an incredible impact in my life.

Another scripture that helped my young Christian mind was Matt.6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” This was the beginning of my tutelage in Faith. It is an irony that we could spend years building our personalities yet neglect the central event of history, i.e. the death of Christ on the cross.

To most of us the cross is a remote experience. We have examples of disciples in our congregation who gave up their life’s ambitions and dreams for the sake of the cross. In the wake of the “schism” that marked the church in 2003, these disciples were blamed for obeying Luke 14:33. Unfortunately, a lot of them blamed the church for “ruining” their lives! I do not think it was an error to give up everything for Christ- I would have done the same then, anyhow.

The truth is most of us now regard the message of the cross as foolishness or else why are the following shameful acts so prevalent in our congregation today (?):

Slander: We are so used to it that we no longer see it as Sin!
Envy: We do not genuinely rejoice with those who are spiritually, materially, etc. better than we are
Greed: In order to catch up with the latest, we want to keep “acquiring”
Malice: We shamelessly justify this with “I don’t have anything against him. I just want to mind my business”
Worldliness: We are no longer different from the society outside of the church!
Hatred: We store up grievances against people and allow our hearts to be messed up by hating them
Insincerity: We take one another for granted because we are disciples
Rivalry: We pitch ourselves against one another- how can we then attract the lost?
Lying: We lie conveniently now and our consciences are so dead we feel nothing!
Unhealthy Competition: You “launch” your jeep because Mr. “Y” has just done bought one
Sexual Immorality: It is so common in our midst today that I wonder what legacies our congregation may bequeath to our daughters that are growing up in the church
Swindling: We buy stuff and do not pay, we borrow and do not even think we have to pay back, we do business jointly and we “short-change” one another, etc
Fits of Rage: We get angry and become so ungodly in the process we cannot even evangelise our neighbours anymore
Drunkenness: Why not totally abstain from alcohol rather than “sinfully” saying the Bible does not preach against drinking?
Wife-Battering: There are many of such in our midst today and if you are a wife that is already intimidated by your spouse on this issue, you had better expose him before he kills you
Critical Attitude: Some of us see nothing good in others, in the church, etc and this also leads to slandering

We take the communion every Sunday, yet, and sadly though, most of us do not really understand the meaning and importance of the cross. Most of us are observers of the cross rather than active participants. We forget that Jesus Christ did not deserve the punishment he received because it was originally meant for us. But our good Lord took our place.

If we are not broken about our sins, God’s power cannot be released in our lives. Imagine the same power that parted the Red Sea and raised Jesus from the dead! Who would not want to have a portion of that power? The transforming power of the cross cannot be experienced if we are not cut to the heart and appreciate the great love God has for us.

It is only when we visualize Jesus and feel his submissiveness that we can truly understand his call for us to completely surrender, take up our crosses daily and follow him. If this does not happen, we can never be like Jesus. Perhaps the cross has become stale in our lives! Perhaps it has lost its emotional impact on us!

Are we still taking the communion in our sorry state? Perhaps 1Cor11:27should remind us of the importance of the act: “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” The greatest danger we face is that we might continue to teach, preach and listen to messages of the cross every Sunday but no longer be humble before it and endeavour to live it.

Why are we (the congregation) dying in our prime these days? I remember how we used to revere the communion in the god old days- you could not partake of it before confessing your sins to a disciple in the service. What has happened to that? Our “Promise Land” title is about to be revoked and property taken by the State Government! What is going on- could it be our callousness to the cross?

May the Lord strengthen those with sincere hearts in our midst and soften the hearts of the obstinate. May the cross be real and felt by all of us and may we all come to repentance for God’s forgiveness……….Just Ponder!