The worst that can happen

A few weeks ago my parents went for their first major vacation. When they sent me pictures, I was amazed at what I saw. Clenched in my mother’s hand, was a copy of a book I wrote over ten (10) years ago. I called her to ask why she chose to travel with that book and not any of the recent ones, she answered “this book changed my life; it helped me understand why I am alive. I love it so much”.  When I heard those words my eyes glowed with light, my face beamed with joy and my spirit was ignited with life. For my mother to be so blessed by my book that she carries it about is a thing of beauty. The saying is that “a prophet has no honor in his hometown”; it might as well be different for me.

The effect of the book “Committed to Purpose” on my mum coupled with several other demands for it has propelled me to begin a revised version which will soon be released. And as a way of helping those who are struggling with understanding why they are here, I have decided to share some parts of it in this blog. I hope it blesses and helps you attain greatness.

The worst that can happen

Recently someone asked me a question. He asked what I think is the worst thing that can happen to a person. Before I could give him my answer, he went on to tell me a sad story of a young man whom he felt had an experience he considered the worst thing that can happen to anyone. The young man in his story was an orphan. He had a younger brother who was four (4) years old when both parents died. Before his mother’s death, she made the older one promise to help the younger one go to the University and become a great man. The older son made that vow to his dying mother and all through his life, did all he could to train up his brother. He had an opportunity to go to school, but he did not, because there was no one else to take care of his brother. Instead, he did all sorts of menial and ignoble jobs also did all sort of businesses, to pay his brother’s school fees. When it was time for him to get married, he did not marry because he wanted to fulfill his mother’s wish.

After many years of trouble, trials and toils, the young man in question was ready to graduate from one of the best universities in their country. He gathered all his friends and extended family and they all prepared to attend the long awaited graduation, which will indeed mark a new season for the family. On the day of the graduation, they got to the school to hear that the worst had happened the night before. The young graduate was stabbed to death by cultists. It was a sad end to a story I thought should have had a happy conclusion.

As the story concluded, he burst into tears. He wept so hard and asked “what can be worse than this?” Cold chills ran down my spine and I almost wept when he told me he was the one who had that experience. I sympathized with him and encouraged him to move on with life. The next day, he came to my office and as we continued our conversation, I told him what I believe is the worst thing that can happen to anyone

I believe that the worst thing that can happen to a person is to be alive and not know why. For someone to be alive and not know his/her purpose is a terrible life to live. It is not the death of an only son, nor is it loss of wealth, fame or life for that matter. If you are alive and do not know your purpose, you are probably better off dead. Lack of knowledge of purpose is the leading cause of frustration, abuse, depression and indeed so many spiritual, psychological and physical illnesses.

Someone once said that the worst thing that can happen to a person is to go to hell fire. May be I should not say he is wrong, I will rather say that lack of understanding of purpose will make people go to hell. People, who do not understand what Jesus came for, will find themselves in hell fire. People who do not understand that man was made in the image and likeness of God, so that we can worship and serve him through Jesus Christ, and that one day we shall be with him to part no more; those who lack this understanding are the ones who will live in hell fire forever.

When you identify your purpose, you smile through life while others frown through it. Not because you have all things working for you, but because you know your purpose, you will not move with the crowd or run up and down looking for the so called “greener pastures”. Those who know their purpose also know that only your shepherd (God) can lead you to greener pastures (cf. Psalm 23: 2). In addition, they understand that not all ‘green pastures’ is their ‘green pasture’. They know that God orders the steps of a good man (cf. Psalm 37: 23). They also know that “…as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14 KJV).

Life is full of storms; in fact, it looks like another word for life is ‘storms’.  If you have not experienced any yet, then get ready, they will come. Young or old, male or female, everyone born of a woman, irrespective of your race, tribe or tongue, if your blood is red, you must face storms. You do not have to like or enjoy it, you may not expect it; one thing in life is certain-you will have challenges. However, only people who understand purpose, make it through the storms of life. They know that they are going somewhere (even though sometimes they do not know exactly where) and they know that storms come to make them strong. They know that there are seasons and times and that there is time for everything under the heaven; so even though they go through the valley of the shadow of death, they understand that it is temporal. They have understanding of purpose and this knowledge empowers them to run the race of this life with hope and faith.

(Culled from the introduction to the book “Committed to Purpose”, 2002)