It wasn’t going to be an easy thing to do for Femi, how on earth was He going to do this? He thought to himself. How ? that was why He just hated “church wahala”. Coming from a very strong Christian background he knew all the activities that involved going to church and becoming a full committed Christian. That is why he swore to Himself that he was going to have enough fun as possible when he gained admission Into the university.
Having a strict father who was too spiritual to realize that there were certain youthful expressions he would like to explore was just unbearable. So he had read his books so well so that he would gain admission on time and leave the house. He was just tired of the preaching, scolding, admonishing, beatings and restrictions placed on him to do many things from his parents especially his dad.
He remembered how every time he got an invitation from his friends to “hangout” with them he was always stopped by his father. He always said those things were of this world and was non-profitable to him. He had never been given an opportunity to express his opinions at home.
Whatever his father said was final as his father was a chief advocate of “spare the rod and spoil the child”, he had permanent scars on his body to show for it. There were just many things his father did that made him make up his mind to never become a “fanatic” church goer. So University was an escape for Him to explore himself as he was tired of being caged by his father.
Not that he didn’t believe in the existentiality of God, he did. He just wasn’t ready to give himself all up to God because of the lifestyle of godly people. Giving himself up would mean not partying, not drinking not keeping girlfriends thereby remaining celibate till he got married and trying to convince someone else of the same craze. “God forbid!” he had told himself as he gained admission, it would be his opportunity to do everything that he had dreamt of doing come what may.
Well as the case was, he had being successful in carrying out his motive until that Sunday in year three. When the pastor preached a message that pricked his conscience. If he was to tell the truth, he had always felt different from his pairs even if they had hung out and did things together, as much as he had made up his mind to have fun in school, he had always heard this voice of reasoning in his heart that made him consider his actions before he did the things he did.
But he always silenced the voice every time by making his motive for coming to school louder than whatever voice tried to stop him. He knew the word of God because he got plenty of it at home, He knew God is real because he had experienced him in his family, there were times when his family had agreed to pray for some things that looked impossible for man to do and God had shown himself mighty. He had seen various miracles in his home church too. All he wanted to do was have fun now and later he would serve God.
But the message that Sunday had pricked his heart, he had gone out for altar call. He had being running away from this and now he was here. The same state he had sworn he would never be. He felt helpless, how was he going to tell his girlfriend that he wanted to breakup with her because he was now a Christian, or his friends that he could no longer hangout with them? He that had joined his friends to laugh at “fanatics”.
He was in his room that Sunday afternoon thinking of the best way to announce to girlfriend and friends that he wanted to walk a different pathway from them and that he had decided to follow Jesus when his girlfriend visited. She is so beautiful he thought to himself, if he breaks up with her now someone else will take her from him, she was one of the “hottest chicks” on campus and he had considered himself lucky to have being the one she chose out of the many guys that were and are still disturbing her to give them a chance to be with them.
Maybe he would continue to date her but he wouldn’t sleep with her again, maybe he would just kiss her, touch her and he wouldn’t penetrate, or maybe he should just continue to sleep with her till whenever they graduated and they wouldn’t see often again before he would be able to break up with her.
As he was trying make up his mind on what to do, two of his friends also visited, His best friend was one of them. Kunle was a very funny, spontaneous and generous person. How was he going to stay away from him just because he had given his life to Christ. Kunle came again with a new invitation for a birthday party of one of the Politian’s son in that state capital. There were going to be drinks and fun and enough food, not to talk of dancing with new set of ladies.
While his friends were in his house with him he forgot all about what happened in church earlier, he forgot about the sermon that had spoken to him directly, he forgot about telling them that he had accepted Christ that day. When they left he had made up his mind to continue to live the way he had been living after all, there was still time to accept Christ. After all Jesus was a loving and merciful savior, anytime time he decided to return to Christ, Christ would never reject him.
That is one of the problems with us that know Jesus, we are aware of the many chances He gives us to repent, we are aware that He has forgiven us of all our trespasses even before we were born and so we take advantage of Grace that was given to us to nurse our sins and bad habits. We proclaim that we have the righteousness of God but we cannot discipline ourselves enough to do away with our sins, weights and weaknesses.
Its like mixing faith with self deceit which is equal to disaster because how can we say we are the light of God and we are joining darkness to fulfil their enterprise. How many times have we said this is the last time I’m going to watch that pornography, or this is the last time I’m going to visit him ( our sex Partner) or masturbate or lie and we end up failing. And we forgive ourselves easily because Christ has forgiven us before we were born and so we nail him to the cross over and over again.
Well, if Femi had known that that was his last chance on earth He would not have forgotten what happened in church that Sunday. Because that night he was robbed and as he tried to run for his life, he was shut by robbers and that was the end of the story for him.
We do not know which day would be our last chance. Let us accept Christ fully and live our lives as if that day is the last so that if Christ decides to return now or calls us home we would have a place for the fellowship in heaven and not hell.