PLEASE DONT MISS OUT
PLEASE DONT MISS OUT
I call her APIJ (short for Angel Princess IfeOluwa Jaiyesimi). You all know her as the Revolutionary Righter. She was in town for a few days last week and we spent some time together sharing our thoughts about the way the world is going.
We talked about a lot of things and in particular we expressed our opinions on the benefits and otherwise of social media especially on our hand held devices. The first thing we agreed on was the fact that Social Media is the biggest tool that is being used to either hold people bound or to liberate them. How do I mean? Some people are so alarmingly hooked up on Social Media so much so that from sun up and even till way after sundown they are amusing themselves and viewing the carefully curated photos and posts of others. This is definitely not the time for that, if you ask me. We should be musing or rather meditating on the Word of God. The days are dark and dreary and only light will see us through. There is no greater Light than Jesus the Light of the world and there is no better way to be guided and led by his light at this time than to stay in the Word. Yet the greatest tool to help us get closer to Jesus is the same device in our hands on which we can listen to messages of hope, worship songs or some audio scriptures at anytime of the day or night. The resources available to us at the touch of a button are just incredible. But are we taking advantage of them? We no longer have to wait to go to church on Sundays or for midweek services to get encouraged or to be in an atmosphere of worship. We can bring church with us wherever we go. We can be lifted all day everyday by plugging into God’s promises for us especially now. We can be encouraged this way.
The very reason why some people are depressed is because they are busy envying others from social media posts and are trying to compare their lives to; compete with or keep up with the Joneses – No two lives are identical: not even the lives of identical twins. So why do we stress over nothing? There are those who stay glued to every possible social media platform because of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out – an expression I only just learnt last week) LOL! Honestly, the only thing we should not miss out on is getting into heaven.
If we miss out on any trending news right now, chances are that we will catch up on it at some point in the not too distant future. We do not have to be the one breaking every news. So it’s really alright to miss out for a while. It is not a big deal. What we must not miss out on is heaven; there is no replay. That is it! Remember the story about the wise and foolish virgins? The foolish virgins missed out because they were not prepared. Please note that all the virgins carried lamps, they all had oil in their lamps and they all fell asleep, what separated them was the preparedness of one group. The wise virgins had come prepared not knowing whether or not it would be a long wait. The foolish virgins on the other hand did not prepare for a long wait. When they ran out of oil, it was too late.
We live in an age where distractions are the order of the day. Even things that will add no value to us are vying for our attention. You could pick up your phone to make a call and before you know it, a notification pops up, you click on it and the distraction just goes on and on. It requires every conscious and deliberate effort to focus on Jesus, the Bridegroom; studying the Word, listening to Christ centered messages, praising and worshipping Him. We must make sure we have a relationship with Him. Church membership or attendance is not a relationship with Jesus and does not guarantee heaven if that is all we are doing.
Dear friends, about three weeks ago I shared about reading a proverb a day. I do not know if anyone took up the challenge. I did and I am being blessed daily by the insights therein. Let us make plans to start spending more time in the relationship with our Lord and Saviour. Talk yourself out of the FOMO. Believe it or not, there is nothing new under the sun.
Whatever you do, PLEASE DO NOT MISS OUT ON HEAVEN.
OLUYINKA EGO-MARTINS©