Since it
rained heavily on Sunday, the 26th of April 2020, I decided to wash on
Monday, the 27th of April 2020 after days of piling clothes in the
name of COVID-19 lockdown. For some weird reason, I have been thinking if I washed
and a COVID-19 infected person passed by and mistakenly coughed, the virus would
contaminate the clothes and in the long run infect me. I said it was a weird thought;
please stop smiling.
Anyway, as I
was washing I was meditating on the Love of God in relation to my newly found
favorite scripture – Romans 5:7-8. As I was thinking about the verse and the
various scenarios in the old and new testaments that displayed the love of God
through the prophets, great men and women of old, and especially through Jesus
Christ on earth; Evangelist Sarkodie and Sister Efya’s song, SAARA, came to
mind. Now, this was very strange to me because as I was washing I had a good
collection of gospel music playing as it is my custom. And when I mean Gospel
music, I mean songs from Theophilus Sunday, Juanita Bynum, Nathaniel Bassey, and
others. There was nothing Sarkodie, Efya, Wizkid, Davido, etc playing. And I
happen to be a big fan of Diana Hamilton, Denzel Prempeh, Joe Mettle, Nathaniel
Bassey, Pastor Isaiah, and a few others; so, WHERE FROM THIS SONG?
Being a spiritual son of a Prophet, I immediately wanted to rebuke the thought but then
I was encouraged in my spirit to rethink the lyrics especially the chorus. I did
and all I heard within was, “That is the
love of God. He doesn’t love you because you are good or perfect. He loves you
because He is Love. You were made in His image. What you are now isn’t what He
sees. He sees what He made you to be. He doesn’t see a prostitute when He looks
at one. He sees a daughter who has been misled like the prodigal son.” Don’t
forget what happened in the Garden of Eden: when God met Adam and Adam told God
he was naked, God asked a relevant question – “Who told you that you were naked?” Our failure to meditate on that question
is the reason most people find themselves where they are today. They are
listening to another voice, instead of the voice of God which is always saying,
“I Love You and I love you just the way
you are.” (If you are thinking “Bruno Mars”, you are in the spirit.)
Now, many have
a problem with IRREVERSIBLE/IRRETRIEVABLE LOVE. Let me explain: Many have come
to believe in the doctrine of, “whatever I
give must surely come back to me in ten thousand folds.” And this weird doctrine
has been the main reason for the many heartbreaks and bitterness we see in many
today. And I am a living example. So, when I asked the Holy Spirit to start working
on me, the first thing He did was to renew my mind on this evil doctrine. And I
call it evil doctrine because the end result builds no fruit of the Spirit;
rather it magnifies the works of the flesh as seen in Galatians chapter 5.
Reading Ephesians
5:22-33, we are introduced to a way of living in the Kingdom of God when it
comes to the relationship of the highest order - marriage. Husbands/men are advised
to love their wives/women just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself
up for her. Our failure to understand this allegory has led to the greatest
error in this highest form of human interaction – marriage. According to the
passage in Ephesians, the only thing a wife/woman must do is to submit to the
husband/man, and the husband/man is to love the wife/woman. But, the love of
the husband/man must be like the Love of Christ for the Church.
So, how does Christ love the Church? According to Romans 5:7-8, while the Church was still
wallowing in sin, Christ still died for the Church. Indirectly, while the Church/the
bride of Christ, was imperfect – stealing, lying, murdering, worshiping idols,
fornicating, blaspheming, etc – He still thought the right decision was to sacrifice
Himself for her. That is the definition of IRREVERSIBLE/IRRETRIEVABLE LOVE.
Now, any human being reading this with earthly wisdom will surely say it is
insane. Yes, according to earthly standard, it is insane; but it is wise
according to heavenly standards. Christ did not agree to die because the church
promised to change. No! He died because
He wanted to show the church that His Love has no condition attached to it.
From the Book
of Genesis to John, we see the only Loving God asking His bride to come back to
Him after forcefully sacking her from His abode (the Garden of Eden) because
she disobeyed a simple instruction. When God gave Jesus, all He was saying was
this, “I know the enemy would still try
to whisper things into your ears, but know that I still love you and always
have my hands opened to welcome you back. Do not try to change yourself before
coming back. Like the prodigal son I am the only best person to make you truly
look and act as a royal again; not you. Just come as you are. My words will wash
you like water. If you do it on your own, you will surely go back. If I do it,
it is forever. Just come back home the way you are.” (For further explanation
of this insane love, please read the Book of Hosea.)
NB: If you are loving someone because
you are expecting the person to do likewise, you are in no way loving like
Christ loved the Church. You are only investing wrongly. Until a bank knows
that you are investing, it will continue to treat your investment as Savings. If
you truly love her, you would love her as Christ loves the Church.
Anyway, a
big thank you to Evangelist Sarkodie and Sister Efya for such a unique reminder
of the Love of God for all. I would wish to write more but it would take an eternity to finish. And as long as the church refuses to tell the world about
the Love of God, the Lord will always find a way to do so.
Remain in
the blessings of the Lord as you remain in Christ.
MD.
