God created the earth to be a replica of heaven and created man to be a replica of God to represent God on earth. Hear God in Genesis 1:26 -27 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Man as God needed not any opportunity for a new beginning. He was made perfect at creation and the perfection granted him the privilege to operate without mistakes or dryness that needed to be reinvigorated or revived. Everything about Man functioned automatically. Everything was new every morning and there was no need for an opportunity for a new beginning. The heaven on earth was called Garden of Eden. God so loved man that He descended from heaven in the cool of the day to fellowship with man.
However, due to insatiability and quest for self aggrandizement, man rebelled against God by breaking His commandment. Man decided to obey and submit himself to God’s arch enemy Satan to the detriment of his relationship with God. This unholy switch of allegiance angered God who stripped man of his divinity and reduced him to dust. Hear God, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Genesis 3:17-19. This rebellion cut off the fellowship man had freely with God because God’s face cannot behold iniquity. Man lost his free access to God.
God reduced man and every activity on earth to recyclable product. He set time for everything and even the time to live and the time to die. His love for man couldn’t be extinguished by man’s foolish and rebellious mistake. Foolish because God already made man in His own image, yet man was deceived by the Devil that why God commanded him not to eat the forbidden fruit was because God didn’t want man to be like God. Rebellious because God created man and man owes God loyalty and should be subject to His commands, yet man disobeyed God and deserved to be punished and grievously did God punish him. He wanted to be like God and ended up being like dust because it’s God’s inexorable command that whosoever exalts himself will be abased but whosoever humbles himself will be exalted. Pride goes before a fall.
However, God is the God of second chance. He couldn’t allow man, whom He made in His own image, to perish forever. He created the opportunity for a new beginning. But there was a hindrance. God has already decreed that the soul that sinned shall die and His words are inviolable. Death includes both spiritual and physical death. Physical death is the separation of the body from the soul which ends in the body being dead and buried as it must return back to dust and the soul being spiritual returns back to God. Spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God. A man’s soul can be separated from God even when he is physically alive. Sin is what separates a man’s soul from God. If a man’s soul remains separated from God and he dies physically, he goes to hell. Knowing that all men have sinned and came short of His glory and not wanting that all men go to hell, God created the avenue for second chance for man. An opportunity for reconciliation with God through forgiveness of sin and receiving the ability not to have pleasure in sin anymore. This was explicitly based on God’s love for man
John 3:16 made it clear, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. The opportunity for a new beginning is the gift of God of his only begotten Son to save the world from sin and rebuild the shattered relationship between God and man. This is the whole essence of Christmas. As you are celebrating Christmas, please ask yourself, have you received Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour? Are you going to be foolish and rebellious to reject the finished work of salvation and go to hell? The Bible made it clear that if we say that we have no sin, we lie and the truth is not in us for all have sinned and come short the glory of God. How can you then escape if you neglect so great a salvation. Christmas is not all about eating and drinking, it is a time of introspection. You must ask yourself the question, if I were to die today, will I make heaven? You must be prepared for you don’t know the time nor the hour you will meet your creator.
Since you cannot help yourself to stop sinning against God, why not try Jesus. He was here on earth and understands what you are going through. He knows it’s difficult at times to make both ends meet. This is why he wants to help you. He said cast your burden upon me and I will give you rest. Those who have much to eat should remember those who don’t have to eat. The people living in good homes should remember those who are homeless. Those who have good clothing should remember those who are naked or cannot afford good clothing. The strong should help the weak, the able should assist the disabled, the rich should support the poor. This is the whole essence of Christmas.
As Jesus appeared to individuals, he also appeared to nations. The Bible said in Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”. Is the government of your country built on God? Any nation that has no fear of God births criminals, bandits, terrorists, unknown gunmen, oil thieves, cultists, ritualists, murderers, armed robbers, pen robbers and above all bad leaders. Indeed bad leaders is the foundation of all the evils a country has. How can one compare the fact that Ukraine is fighting a super power nation, yet the whole of Africa is crying for hunger because the grains that usually come from Ukraine has ceased to come. Even in the midst of war, Ukrainians are still surviving and exporting food to Africa. Meanwhile African countries that are not fighting wars are dying of hunger. America with all its expertise in statistics predicted that Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, will fall within 4 days of Russian invasion. The prediction failed because of good leadership. Kyiv is still standing while Russia has started collapsing. A super power!
Nigeria is much more blessed than Ukraine. We have more than 923,000 Square kilometres of arable land yet the people are hungry and farmers are not allowed to go to their farms because of insecurity. We have more than 850 kilometres coastal line that ran from Central Africa to West Africa that would have made us a maritime super power yet we cannot catch enough fish to feed ourselves and we cannot build enough seaports to serve our businessmen and other African countries around us. We have the most powerful military and para-military security agencies in Africa yet insecurity is walloping us all round. We are the most religious people on earth yet we are one of the most corrupt countries in the world. We used to have the most efficient educational system that trained professionals that supplied our country its needed staff in all spheres of human endeavour. Today, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has been on strike for 8 months without any end in sight. Our people have lost confidence in public schools because they have become comatose. Nigeria has no business being poor. Bad leadership is our problem
Only God can save us now because we have come to a precipice. Christmas was ordained by God both for the individual and the nation. It is the birth of salvation. Let us use the occasion of this Christmas to pray for our country. God made it clear in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. We have to note, however, that faith without work is dead being alone. 2023 offers us a chance for a new beginning in Nigeria. We must utilise the opportunity to vote men of character, competence and capacity to govern us. A Philosopher made it clear that “A people that elect corrupt politicians, thieves and traitors are not victims but accomplices.” Whoever in Nigeria that votes for any politician with proven record of criminality, drug trafficking, corruption, terrorism, religious fanaticism is an accomplice to those crimes.
Christmas beckons on us for a new beginning. As God changed the history of the world from sin, sickness and curse to righteousness, good health and blessings during Christmas, so has He given us the power to change the fortune of our country from bad leadership, poverty, corruption, sin and curse to riches, good leadership and righteousness. As we pray for a new Nigeria and vote right come 2023, we wish you a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year in advance