ONLY JESUS CAN ALLEVIATE NEEDLESS SUFFERING

I had a discussion yesterday with a man who has spent the last 20 years in the United States of America where he first went as a Green Card Lottery winner and is now a citizen.

He came on a two week vacation to his home country Nigeria and returned to the U.S. yesterday.

This man told me how hard he works for 16 hours daily, how after paying his taxes, rent, laundry, fueling, telephone, lighting and other bills what he has left is about $15 USD, which means he has no savings every month living pay check to pay check.

Even his flight to and from Nigeria was paid for by his son.

He told me how this was his first vacation in 20 years and how it included his sick leave and off day.

He said he works Saturdays, Sundays and even on public holidays.

Finally, he told me he could not see himself continuing this life for the next 7 years. He is going to be 60 years this 2015 and had been in the U.S. since he was 40 years. He said the age limit for retirees is 67 years but he cannot continue with such hard work until then.

When I asked him what his plans were for retirement, he said he would think about it and find something to do and that there was always something to do. He plans to return to Nigeria after retirement to visit the U.S. for medical check up on a regular schedule.

He said here in Nigeria, he won't have rent to pay so the pressure would be less for him. He is actually planning to stay in the houses his late father built in the city and in the home country or village because he has been unable to build any house for himself after so many years of hard work in the U.S.

When I reminded him that he could have started a business all this while, he said how could he start when he had no money.

Eventually, when I reminded him that Jesus Christ was able to alleviate his sufferings because of my own personal life experience, he politely declined my offer and said he was not interested.

He went ahead to describe how, in his view, religion had caused crises all over the world today and that he would rather not be involved. I asked him if he believed in God and he said yes, then I asked how he worshipped God and he said he does it in his room and not in some gathering with a congregation of worshippers.

He said the preachers and churches are ripping people off their money and promising what they cannot give, which is heaven.

I asked him if he believed in heaven and hell and because Nigeria currently suffers an intractable power problem, he said heaven and hell are here on earth and those who live in the rich areas of Nigeria and are able to afford all luxuries of life including uninterrupted power supply from inverters, generators, etc are in heaven while those who are unable to have all these are in hell.

In saying all these, the man forgets that in America where he resides, there is uninterrupted power and he also forgets that the people of the world are ripping him off his hard earned money in taxes and other bills.

Dear friend, I had to share this story because there are many out there who have this same wrong idea about Christianity, Heaven and Hell and believe they are better off without it.

I have come from losing one parent, my father, to now living happily with my spouse and enjoying life at my own level. One thing is clear in all these: it is Jesus Christ who did it for me because if not for Jesus, my life could have been worse.

When you read the Word of God in the Holy Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ who started Christianity while He came as a human being on the earth, there is NO WHERE Jesus tells us to hate others, steal, kill, keep malice, commit adultery or fornication, marry more than one wife, kill for God, embezzle, oppress others, etc.

Jesus tells us to obey His commandment to love God Almighty above all things and to love our neighbour as ourselves.

Dear friend, it is people who claim to be Christians and doing the opposite of what Jesus says that are giving Christianity a bad name. Whatever Jesus has commanded is holy and righteous and He has clearly said that whoever loves Him obeys His commandments.

That said, Jesus Christ has said in Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This invitation is to everyone who is passing through real hardship and struggling to earn a living. You have no business with non-stop suffering if you understand that Jesus who is God and our Creator is able to provide all your needs.

Unless you think WRONGLY God is handicapped because of the number of people with needs in the world He has to attend to, then you think WRONGLY again that you are responsible for providing your needs.

You did not create yourself neither are you responsible for your health, neither can you say what happens to you when you are asleep or when you wake up.

If you are a working adult, you go out daily to work and earn a living and you commute and return without any mishaps. You are able to drink, eat, sleep, read and do all things a normal person can do.

I tell you, dear friend, there are millions of others who are unable to lead a normal life to do these same things due to ill health and some have spent years and years and money trying to find good health but are unable to.

You are not better than them in anyway but for the grace of God. Yes, it is God who is responsible for our well-being and all that concerns us because He is our Maker.

It does not mean God loves you more than those who are ill but it gives you a better perspective to understand that God has shown you mercy and continues to do so.

When you work to earn a living, you owe an obligation to God to thank Him because your life can end at any time but God has not allowed it to end for now.

Therefore, you cannot claim that you are self-made when you start getting wealth, neither can you blame anyone when you're not doing well.

God has made an offer to every human being. He says seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness, and all the other material things you bother yourself about (food, shelter, clothing, drink, rent, school fees, lighting, fuel, hospital bill, etc), He will give you (Matthew 6:25-34).

This is the promise Jesus Christ has made to everyone. I have personally tried it and it works because of the simple reason that the Owner and Creator of the Universe MUST know what it takes to sustain it.

There is no situation that is beyond God. Unless you give it a try, you will never know. So if you choose to behave like the man I conversed with whom I told you about at the beginning of this post who is not interested in Christ Jesus but money as he said he chose, you will continue to have one crisis after another and struggle until death.

Unfortunately, the sad thing is that anyone who dies without having Jesus as his or her Saviour will end up spending eternity in hell fire with satan and demons.

Remember, dear friend, as you read this, that God is giving you another opportunity to turn to Him and alleviate your difficulties because He says He is the One who gives us power to create wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). God says He is the One who gives us riches and does not add sorrow to it (Proverbs 10:22).

Jesus does not say a Christian will not have challenges in this life. What He says is that He will always provide succour because He ALONE can do ALL THINGS and He cannot struggle doing that no matter how many people are involved because He created us all.

Therefore, dear friend, today and NOW, is the time to decide to give your life to Christ Jesus to takeover and show you how to live a qualitative life here on earth and end up in heaven with Him forever when you pass on in death.

Tomorrow or later may be too late.

May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus' Glorious Name, Amen.

Gabriel Ama.