FEATURE ARTICLE

Moshood FayemiwoSunday, December 23, 2012
[email protected]
Chicago, Illinois, USA

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THE PURPOSE OF LIFE: WHY ARE WE HERE?

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n the New Year, a new column will debut here. It will engage us on the fundamental issues of life. It will take us to the most important decision every human being on earth will have to make right here on earth. The Christian Walk-as the column will be called- will open our eyes to the truth of life. It will be conversational, a dialog that readers and the columnist will engage in, using the Word of Life, the Holy Bible as our ultimate Guide.

There are certain things in life we do not have power over. No one has the power to decide his/her existence. In other words, no one was given the option, whether to be born or not. When we would love to be born, what gender, the color of your skin, which part of the world, the town, family and parents you would love to be born into were issues none of us had power over to decide. God Almighty made the decisions on all these matters (Acts 17:24-29). Apostle Paul's exegesis on the choice of Israel as a nation of priests to the world described these pre-ordained decisions as; "purpose in election." The Jehovah God Almighty didn't choose the Israelites because of favoritism, neither were they superior to the rest of us, but in His purpose in election which He also extended to all human beings, the Israelites do not have a hand in this purpose of election just like you and I have no choice over our coming here as human beings.

This is where the story of Man began. When I use the word Man here, it does not refer to the gender male. Nowhere does the word Man refer to the male gender in the Holy Bible. Man refers to the generic human race of man and woman just as the word Animal is a generic word for cattle and creatures on four legs or Aquatic is a generic term for water and amphibian creatures. As we commence our voyage into the purpose of life in the New Year in The Christian Walk column, the Holy Spirit will explain the real spiritual meanings of words that we are already accustomed to their meanings when, in fact, their everyday uses have distorted their exact meanings. There are many of such words in the Holy Bible; words such as; Man, Death, Fall, Peace, etc. which need to be spiritually-restored to their Godly meanings.

Now that each of us finds us here as human beings, we begin to navigate the journey of life through others who are already here before us. Parents and other members of the community we were born into begin to shape us. In our coming, seeing, doing and finally leaving, we all must reach a certain stage in our earthly existence when we will make a decision on where each of us finally ends up. No human being can say with hope and confidence; "I came, I saw, I lived, I conquered and I returned," until he/she has made the decision here and here now on who he/she will serve. The most successful human beings are not those declared so by fellow human beings. If the question of where each of us will spend eternally will be determined by the opinion of the rest of us, the media and family members, the purpose of election that Apostle Paul referred to us above should have also involved the rest members of the human family and the media. In other words, if God Almighty did not seek the inputs of other human beings, even our parents and family members on the issues of our gender, race, nationality, family memberships etc. which we have no power of decisions, then it stands to reason that only He and He Alone will, should and must decide whether we are qualified to return to Him or not. This sobering reality is sealed by Death, which God Almighty as the ultimate Decider has decreed for every soul. "It is appointed unto man-human beings, male and female-to die once and then the judgment," so the Holy Bible declares. The only input we have as an individual into our existence is; the decision on where we want to spend eternity, period.

Every human being ever born, and will be born unto this world must make a decision about this great decision of eternal destination, and there are only two forks on the road to eternity: heaven or hell, period! There is no middle road. You may not believe it but you can't disbelieve the purpose in election-the way you arrived here-and the manner of your exit-Death. Consequently, it is not a matter of believe now, otherwise we have nearly 3billion of such believe-s in the world today as the number of human beings-so it is a matter of distinct and undeniable reality. There are numerous things we may choose not to believe-fire don't burn, but it does; rain makes people wet; the moon shines in its season; the sun gives light to the earth; too much exposure to snow causes frostbite, which can lead to hypothermia and then death etc. A dis-believe in these natural orders of universal occurrences hardly subtracts from their reality.

There are three logical deductions from the above realities by any sane mind: first, there exists a Higher Intelligent who put all these things together. This is why atheists are stupid and are an unintelligent people. This is why Mr. Charles Darwin, the naturalist, who lived in the 19th Century and is being lionized and celebrated by some "scholars" for his bizarre theory of Darwinism makes no sense at all. For every product, there is a producer; every building, a builder and nothing can emerge out of nothing but must be from something. Unless you are stupidly dimwitted, the orderliness of the universe is the proof of a Sovereign Supreme Being (Romans 1: 19-20). The second sobering reality is that, this Supreme Being created each and every one of us for a purpose. A manufacturer who makes a product has a view in mind; a house builder purposes it as a dwelling place and the universe confirms there is a purpose for every item under the sun and so there is a purpose the Creator puts you and I here. Thirdly and finally, every manufacturer expects a return; every builder of a house ensures the house serves its purpose and God Almighty, the Sovereign Lord of the heavens, earth and underneath expects you and me to give account of our earthly existence when we are done here. That is not complicated to figure out at all.

Each time I read about the passage of someone in the media, especially some popular person in any corner of the world, I crack up when I read all kinds of eulogies being heap on the deceased. The panegyrics are sometimes effusive even to the point of apotheosizing some of these notable passages. "If anyone deserves to enter heaven, he/she will make it because he/she was such a good man/woman," "He/she is in heaven now to rest with the Lord," "He is looking at us from heaven now," "She has gone to rest with the Lord," It is from Him we all came and to Him we shall all return," and such phrases are commonplace in our world. The living say all these about the dead because, such words betray our emotions, but also make us feel good about the departed and infuse into us the standards we want the dead and the living to be judged. But if we had no inputs into God's purpose in election as referenced above, what gives us the confidence that we the living have the right to make inputs into the eternal destination of the departed? It is just mere believe! Shouldn't He who sent us here have the final say on whether each and every one of us will return to Him when our time is up here? If any of us has not fulfilled his/her purpose while we were here, do we have the right to tell Him we deserve a place back home? When someone dies, we the living say "it is his/her time to die?" When a terrible accident occurs, and someone is dead, it is fashionable for people to say "Oh, it was his/her time to die, no one can stop it!" Are all these Biblical? Is there anything like destiny? Is there a time appointed unto everyone to die and everyone must keep that appointment?

We say the dead is a good man or woman as tribute but who decides if a man or woman is good? Whose standard of good do we use to describe a good dead person? If we say once it is time for a person to die, he/she will die anyway and there is nothing one can do about it; since God Almighty has decreed it, why then should God Almighty be called a God of love and God of justice if He will let some people live to the age of 80, 90 even 100 plus and allow a deranged gunman to snuff life out of a 6-year old in Newtown, Connecticut? If a 6-year old and a-100-year old die, how will they be judged? We hear today among religious people, even in churches: "Don't worry, God is in control," if God is in control, why is there so much evil in the world? Did the Bible say God is in control? Where did this idea come from? Why do pastors tell converts to give their lives to Christ and once they are Christians, everything will be okay? Is that what Our Lord Jesus Christ taught in the Bible? What does it mean to use your talent for the Lord? Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? What it the mission of each and every one of us in the world? How can we know our purpose? What is God's will and how can you know His will for you? Why is the world the way it is today? Where is evil omnibus? Why are things and conditions of life so hard for all nations and people of the world? When will all these come to an end? What is the plan of God Almighty for the human race? Are all religions saying basically the same thing and are we all going to the same place? Where is heaven? How does it look like? Does hell exist? Who are those going there? Can anyone be assured of going to heaven? Who is Jesus Christ? Is He God, Son of God or Prophet? If He is God, can He be His Son at the same time? Can any group of believers say they have exclusive knowledge of the Truth? Where is Satan? Who is Satan? Do demons exist? What are there machinations in the world today? God Almighty knows everything, so if He does, didn't He know Adam and Eve would rebel against Him? What does the fall in the Garden of Eden mean?

These and many more issues of life are what we will be dealing with in the new column; "The Christian Walk" beginning here on Tuesday January 1, 2013 and every Monday thereafter. I intend to make this column conversational because, in matters of the hereafter, all should be involved. The grundnorm of the Christian faith is the Holy Bible and its inerrancy is the basis for all Truth. There is only One Truth, and God Almighty is that Truth and that Truth is contained in His Word. As the Holy Bible is the Truth of God Almighty, Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Living Truth and the Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible and to Him we shall rely absolutely on the meaning and interpretations of words in this column. There won't be dissipation of energy on personal beliefs and believes; no engagement in emotional outbursts and if you do not subscribe to our faith, do not recourse to name callings, but don't avoid reading the column. However, we will endeavor to respect the feelings of adherents of other faith-beliefs but we will not shy away from drawing the distinctions between us and their faith-beliefs. We will do this in respectable way and anchor such distinctions on knowledge.

For those who share our faith-beliefs, we expect disagreements in certain areas which are normal, for as Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, disagreements amongst believers on doctrinal beliefs are healthy so we will be able to know who is actually called to teach. The Holy Spirit is the final arbiter on all scriptural matters and he/she who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit does not argue unnecessarily about Biblical issues. Of course, every believer is given the Holy Spirit according to God's measure. Apostles Paul and Peter disagreed in Galatia and the former called the latter out on the issue of circumcision yet both had the Holy Spirit. Barnabas, the son of encouragement was full of the Holy Spirit, but Apostle Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit but the Son of God had the Holy Spirit without measure because He was God Almighty in the flesh. I expect this approach from fellow believers, who may have disagreements with some matters in this column in subsequent issues but if you cannot substantiate any disagreement from the Holy Bible, it profits no one.

The columnist doesn't need to establish his credentials as a harbinger of the Word of Life; the very words you read in the column will show if he has the true Word of God. In the matters of eternity, neither earthly titles nor secular credentials matter but what has been given to each and every one of us directly from heaven, for after all, all of us are students in the University of the Holy Spirit. If earthly titles and secular education are all that are needed in the interpretation of the Word of Life, an illiterate housewife in the Philippines or a rural farmer in the remotest part of Africa will have no chance; yet, the poor and the illiterate who humbly accepted they are poor in spirit enter heaven by Divine Grace while professors and so-called wise men and women of the world with chains of university degrees are perishing daily, because of their smug satisfaction of being spiritually rich and do not need God Almighty, the repository of Eternal Wisdom (I Corinthians 2:14). We thank God Almighty for the new technological barracuda of our time; the Internet, which allows anyone to be a part of this unavoidable conversation of life. Please join us, read us and contribute to the column, either as addenda, clarifications and or more enlightenment based on the anointing given you by the Holy Spirit beginning January, 2013.

POSTSCRIPT: I wish to digress a little about an event that just took place in Nigeria, my native country of birth. As most people know, I was a publisher/editor in Nigeria in the 1990s and there were a lot of news stories that my magazine, Razor published during those military years, but one stood out. The story was why then army chief, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babngida staged a coup against the then military head of state, Gen Muhammadu Buharu on Saturday August 27, 1985. It is on record that Razor was and still is the only newspaper/magazine in Nigeria up to date that published the "real" story of that military coup. We reported that Gen. Babangida and the then director of military intelligence; Brigadier Aliyu Gusua was running a drug cartel in the Nigerian Army with the wife of Gen Babangida, the late Mrs. Maryam Babangida and intelligence sources reached Gen Buhari, through the then director of the then Nigerian Security Organization (NSO)-now known as SSS-the late Ambassador Lawan Rafindadi. Gen Buhari, then head of state and the late Gen Tunde Idiagbon, who was the chief of staff supreme headquarters-deputy head of state-decided to retire then Brigadier Aliyu Gusua and Babangida. The memo that Buhari as head of state took to the army command for the retirements of both Aliyu Gusua and Babangida was leaked to top Nigerian journalists, among who was the late Mr. Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine.

The involvement of Gen Ibrahim Babangida, his late wife, Maryam and Aliyu Gusua and some civilian business men in the trafficking of cocaine and heroin was the main reason Babangida staged the coup of August 27, 1985 and was the reason Mr. Dele Giwa was killed by a parcel bomb on October 19, 1986 because he was planning to publish the story in Newswatch magazine, which was to be anchored by Mr. Kayode Soyinka, the then magazine's London Correspondent. When my magazine, Razor carried the story in September 1993-the only publication in Nigerian history to date-there were denials by some, but 28 years after, I am happy that the truth has finally come out and my publication has been vindicated. The man at the center of it all, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, who was overthrown by Babangida, just granted an interview to the editors of The Sun newspapers in Nigeria on the anniversary of his 70th birthday. He confirmed blow-by-blow the Razor report and mentioned the name of Aliyu Gusua, who later became National Security Adviser to Obasanjo (1993-2006) and President Goodluck Jonathan (2010). But Buhari made an assertion in that block-buster interview, which to me was a challenge to the Nigerian media, especially the so-called mainstream newspapers whose editors tout themselves as the "best" in Nigeria.

Buhari said, the players are still alive: Babangida, Aliyu Gusua, Domkat Bali, etc. and the editors of The Sun newspapers and by extension, Nigerian newspaper editors should go and interview them. That was the same challenge I issued to Nigerian newspaper editors in 2010 during an interview in New York, because, this is part of Nigerian history and Nigerian striplings who weren't born or not old enough during the killing of Dele Giwa deserve to know the truth. Thank God Almighty that Gen Muhammadu Buhari is alive at 70 to scratch the surface and bring the history of Nigeria alive for today. But more importantly, both Gen Babangida and his Man Friday; Aliyu Gusua, are also alive. If they are real men of honor that they claim to be, and their often-touted claims of serving their fatherland with dignity and professional excellence are credible, they should react to that interview by Buhari in The Sun of both Saturday and Sunday December 22 and 23, 2012.

Babangida and Aliyu-Gusua should either deny or confirm what Razor published 28 years ago and has just been confirmed by the then military head of state and their former boss; Gen Muhammadu Buhari this week in an interview to wit:-That both men were involved in cocaine and heroin drug cartel in Nigeria; That both men were about to be retired by the Nigerian Armed Forces on account of their criminal actions as army officers; That the retirement of Aliyu-Gusua was to be announced first, and followed by that of Ibrahim Babangida in October 1985; That both Babangida and Aliyu-Gusua staged the August 1985 coup to stem their retirement; That the memo referred to Buhari in his interview was given to all top Nigerian newspaper and magazine editors but none could publish the story and Dele Giwa was killed, because he was about to publish the story; and finally, Razor eventually published it in September 1993 and ever since, every newspaper house in Nigeria has kept silent because of their fear of and for Babangida and Aliyu-Gusua.

These are germane issues on Nigerian national discourse, not only as a nation and Nigerians as a people but fundamentally on how much majority of Nigerians know about those who govern them.

See the link on the interview former Head of State and Military President of Nigeria, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, (1984-1985) granted The Sun newspaper on December 23, 2012 marking Buhari's 70th birthday. https://sunnewsonline.com/new/national/the-sun-exclusive-buhari-bares-it-all/

Dr Fayemiwo is author, publisher and CEO, Alternative Lifestyle Communication, DBA is an adjunct lecturer in African History & Media Studies at the City Colleges of Chicago in Illinois, USA.

Beginning January, 2013, Dr Fayemiwo will maintain a permanent column here known as "The Christian Walk" which will inspire our readers about the Christian faith. Please look forward to cornucopia of issues bordering on salvation and the journey to eternal life.

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