…THE HARD TRUTH by Dr Kennedy Musonda
IN the last article, I discussed the three important decisions that a young person must make: career choice, spouse choice, and Jesus choice.
Of the three, the last choice is the most critical because its impact goes beyond this life to the afterlife. After all, the life we spend here on Earth is like a fraction of a second compared to eternity.
Today, I will continue from where I ended in Ecclesiastes 12:1(NIV) which states “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say I have I find no pleasure in them” or in physical enjoyment.
It is a Hard Truth that a time is coming to all of us (for some it is nearer than others but that time will surely come to all of us if we do not die early) when our bodies will fail us, and we will feel trapped in our bodies. This is the time when even walking, eating, and sleeping which are now done instinctively will be both a nightmare and traumatic.
Many young people, especially when things are going their way, do not take even a minute to think about where they will spend their eternity. For them, giving their lives to Christ and become Born Again Christians is the most uncool thing to do.
The situation is made worse by the many religious people who camouflage as Christians because they go to church or belong to a Christian denomination but are as far from God as the east is from the west. Moreover, there is also too many hypocrites who go to Bible believing churches who know the religious jargon but are as children of the devil as the religious folks or those who never step into a church. These two categories of people misrepresent Christianity and give it a bad name.
Without experiencing the joy of salvation and the forgiveness of sin, Christianity to an outsider may appear boring, restrictive, undesirable and the dumbest thing for a young person to do. The irony of Christianity is that many a time the benefits of being a Christian may not accrue immediately to people who are not Christians and sometimes to some Christians because it is not a 100 meter sprint but a 10 kilometer marathon.
The longer you serve God, the more you will see the visible benefits of being a Christian. It is during this time that the difference between those who serve God and those who do not start becoming apparent. Those who do not serve God, who are not Christians, start falling by the wayside as they are afflicted by self-imposed problems that come from wrong choices and start to suffer the consequences of bad habits, addictions, broken families, delinquent children, ill health, premature death – the list is endless.
In the Word of God, and especially the book of Psalms, God only promises doom and gloom to people who do not fear Him. But to believers who trust in Him, He promises them multiple blessings even up to old age. Listen to what the Psalmist says in Psalm 92:8, 12-14: “For surely your enemies Lord will perish; all evil doers will be scattered”…but “the righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the yards of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green.” I have seen this in the life of others and in my life having been a Christian for more than 33 years. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.
For the next version of The Hard Truth, check Kalemba every Tuesday.
Author: Dr. Kennedy Musonda, Ph.D. holds a Bachelor and Master of Social Work, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Ph.D. in Business Administration. He also hold a Bachelor of Arts in Theology. Dr. Musonda is an International Consultant in development.
For feedback contact me on email: [email protected], WhatsApp/Telegram line +260977526404 or Skype: kmusonda45