MY APOLOGY AND REFLECTION

Nov 19, 2023

2–3 minutes

Peace and grace be with you beloved in the Lord. I sincerely apologize for not showing up for yesterday’s Marriage Counseling meeting via Zoom as the facilitator. At the eleventh hour, I experienced headache and exhaustion caused by long travels and ministerial assignments. I had my medication administered as I patiently waited to start the meeting at the scheduled time. Unfortunately, I suffered the fate of Eutychus in Act 20:9 at the eleventh hour. I promise to reschedule the meeting to Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 8:30 PM.

REFLECTION
When I woke up at 2:30 AM, I saw the missed calls of two people. I believe they were calling to check up on me and to find out why I was unavailable for the meeting. I really appreciate their effort. The truth is that I was far away from home, alone in my guest room and my phone was on vibration.

If I were at home, my wife, knowing my schedules would have come to check up on me if she was not hearing my voice at the scheduled time for the meeting.

I just realized that we are most vulnerable when we are alone. Anything could happen to us when we are alone and no one would ever know about it until your silence and absence becomes unusual.

Again, although I suffered the fate of Eutychus in Act 20:9, it also means that God can call us at anytime regardless of who we are and our plans in life. Like an ageing vehicle that develops electrical or mechanical faults at anytime in its journey, our ageing bodies are also unpredictably fragile and can leave us anywhere, especially when it becomes sick and exhausted. There are two things we have no control over. These are sleep and death. Anytime we fall asleep, God does maintenance work on our bodies and revives us to continue living, however, death is God’s way of converting sleep to a state of lifelessness. Death begins the journey of eternity.

Sometimes when you have people around you, and you show symptoms of death they can rush you to the hospital and prolong your life just a little bit. However, when you are alone, death comes swiftly and uninterrupted. The lesson here is that whether we are alone or with others, whether it is sleep or death, we must always be prepared for the day of the Lord and our departure from this world. Anytime you go to sleep, be mindful that it may be your last sleep on earth and anytime you wake up from your bed, also be mindful that it may be your last day on earth. It is for this reason we are greatly encouraged by Paul that *“If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:8)*

How prepared are you to meet the Lord? No matter who you are and wherever you find yourself, we shall all suffer the same fate. I encourage you to repent, confess your sins and have faith in Jesus Christ because He is the Lord and Saviour through whom we become the sons and daughters of God. Shalom and remain blessed.

Rev. Jean-Paul Agidi.