Let us bring out the greatness in ourselves!
Jesus came into the world at a time when there was a lot of political unease. The Jews were under hard oppression from the Romans and there was a yearning for a messiah to liberate them. History and scriptures (Acts 5:36-37) has it that there were several attempts at a revolution but they all failed. All the Jews wanted was a powerful man that would lead a revolution and salvage them from the tyranny of the Romans. They didn't just hope in ignorance but were aware through the books of the law and prophets of a messiah that will come, so they waited in anticipation of a powerful man that will probably lead them in battle against the Romans to ensure the freedom of the Jewish nation from Oppression.
Prophecies became fulfilled as the messiah, Jesus Christ came but not without a disappointment because he came from the lowest of backgrounds, born into the family of a nobody with no connection to the royal family of that time. At the onset of His ministry, the people especially his kinsmen doubted and rejected him because they knew him too well for Him to be a saviour, but in the course of his ministry, he qualified as a Redeemer because the people realised how powerful and influential he was based on his accomplishments in a short time. In ignorance of his actual assignment, the people celebrated him hoping finally a saviour had come to rescue them from their sufferings once and for all. They made several attempts at declaring him king which would have led to a serious political turmoil and bloodshed because the Romans would have fought to ensure their continuous control of the Jews.
In the face of these occurrences, Jesus withdrew, at times when he performed some miracles, he urged the beneficiaries to keep it secret because he understood the political environment and what such demonstration of power would plant in the hearts of oppressed people in certain cities He ministered in, who badly needed a saviour.
Jesus was very focused on his assignment and didn't allow the praises from men distract him since he came with an eternal mission. Naturally, there were possibilities that Jesus would have swayed to involve himself in political matters, at a point he was tested by the pharisees on matters bothering paying taxes to the Romans but Jesus made his stance clear, knowing well he was here for a higher assignment, one higher than meddling in local politics.
Do you realise that all through the ministry of Jesus he never for once criticised or opposed the government but vehemently, he opposed, rebuked and corrected the religiousness and hypocrisy of the pharisees and so called custodians of the laws and values of the Jewish people? In real sense, these were the people responsible for the enslavement faced by the Jews. The Roman dictatorship was a secondary problem. It was the outcome of the irresponsibility of the so called pious religious leaders. Instead of dealing with leafs, Jesus went straight to the roots of the problem that befell the people, he taught true values, corrected patterns and conceptions, and upheld standards that had been watered down to favour the greedy and hypocritical elders of the people. Jesus dealt with the core issues not the superficial outcomes. This was necessary because scripture had already warned that righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. So, Jesus dealt with the cause and not the effect so that when the cause disappears, by default things would begin to fall in place. He didn't come to paint broken walls and rotten houses but he came to rebuild from the foundation so that the problems faced by the people would be solved once and for all.
That same political environment can be likened to the current situation in our nation. Secession and clamouring for change will never be a solution to the problems facing our nation, but a holistic appraisal of our values, beliefs and laws. A training and reorientation of the youths and citizens to change their already existing paradigms and a push to instill responsibility in the citizens. If this is not achieved, even if the nation divides, there will still be more problems. This is where I come in and I truly believe that the emergence of this nation is dependent on the church. Let us kill religion and teach people responsibility and discipline which is a core component of the gospel. We should direct and dictate the standard to the society. It is disheartening to say that I have been in the church all my life and have seen that the most undisciplined and irresponsible individuals I have met come from here. We have the power to transform society, let us use it well. Let's preach the gospel in the pattern Jesus did, he set a perfect example for us.
Our nation is great!!
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