THE COMPELLING POWER OF A NEW AFFECTION

Oh Lord what kind of Life do you want me to live?

From whence shall I get the power to live such a Life?

What quality of life do you want me to live?

Answer: Be different from the rest of the World.

Have you asked the questions above, the answer has not changed. In a world of diversities of affection, the Christian must live a life of total affection for God and the statement is true that “one can never truly give God first place until you have given Him everyplace”.

Years ago, the beetles sang a song:

“Yesterday all my troubles seem so far away,

Now they seem they have come to stay.

Oh I believe in yesterday.

Yesterday love was such an easy game to play,

Now I need a place to hide away,

Oh, I believe in yesterday”

In our experience it appears that yesterday the grass always seems greener, the weather gentler, the youths kinder, the music softer, the economy better and the pocket heavier. “Oh I believe in yesterday.”

Contrast that with the lyrics of Don William’s country song;

“Don’t think about tomorrow.

It don’t matter anymore,

We can turn the key and lock the world outside the door

I need you so now

c’mon, let’s go now

Kick off your shoes

Turn off the light

And love me tonight.”

In the lyrics of both songs above, we find the temptation of the spirit of the age (a common denominator in every secular music) and somewhere between her wishful romanticizing of yesterday and the wishful dismissal of tomorrow is the reminder that “This is the day that the day Lord has made”. Jesus is the eternal contemporary, as the scripture said “Jesus is the same today yesterday, today and forever!” in Him we find a God that knows our tomorrow and understands our yesterday’s far more than we can contemplate and yet He says “Because I live, You will live also”.

Jesus brings meaning to every expression and gives strength for today.

We live in tempting times, we live in perilous time, we live in a time when it is a crime to be different, we live in a time when the vogue is “to be in vogue”, we live in times where in our imaginations the good has been made to look boring and uninteresting and evil made to look classy, charming and beautiful. In reality there is a nothing as beautiful as the good and there is nothing as ugly as evil. Good and evil are like the positive and negative points of an electrode, when you transpose them darkness falls.

That is why man is a stranger to himself.

The question again;

Oh Lord what kind of Life do you want me to live?

From whence shall I get the power to live such a Life?

What’s the quality of life you want me to live?

Answer: Be different from the rest of the World.

How can I be different from the rest of the world?

Answer: Do You Love me more than these? Love me.

Is it not amazing that this was the most important requirement Peter had to meet, do you love me?, More than these? The question has not changed.

This is called “the compelling power of a new affection”.

Please think about the world you live in, there is a continuous tension between the ways of the world and the way of a Holy God. In Mathew 5, we hear the march of a different drummer; The Christian counterculture.

In Luke 7 vs. 37-50, we find a sinner woman that met Grace. Jesus concluded with the words “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Luk 7:47)

……….and he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. (Luk 7:50).

Dear Friend, it takes compelling love to live and it takes Faith to truly Love, Faith is not for claiming things as we often mistake it. In Hebrews 11 we find a faith that understood (vs. 1) earned a good reputation (vs. 2) offered (vs. 3) pleased God (vs.5) built (vs. 7) obeyed (vs. 8) didn’t despair (vs. 9-10), believed (vs. 11) concluded God ( vs. 19). Blessed ( vs. 20) refused (vs. 24) left a good place (vs. 27) followed God (vs. 30) …….you can complete the list:

From whence shall I get the power? Have Faith and Love Him.

The woman worshipped, at the place of worship we find power over sin, at the place of His fellowship as sons we learn correction, He curbs our pride by calling us to servant hood, teaches us dependence by humbling us and gives us His power to live today by filling us with His Spirit.

We live in tempting times, we live in perilous times. When Jesus saw the scenario he didn’t say “In the world you will have tribulations, let’s pack our bag and go”. Rather he said “in the world you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world”. He doesn’t say “escape with me” He says “engage with me”. We are called not to fight for victory but to engage from victory because the greater one, the victorious one is in us.

God bless

Okwonna N. Nelson (nnamdiokwonna@yahoo.com)