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REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is ‘Faithful Engineering.’ Faithful in the context of today’s reflection means ‘truthful to the fact or the original.’ Engineering in the context of today’s theme and reflection can be defined as ‘the action of working artfully to bring something about.’ The theme can therefore be rephrased as ‘remaining truthful to the Word of God even as it is being artfully made comprehensible and relevant to its audience. The epistle of Jude was written to caution those who have joined the church but have not fully accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. These people engaged in blasphemous acts such as false teachings. They pervert the grace of God by engaging in ungodly acts that defile their flesh and bring blemish on the church. Jude made references to the Old Testament to warn these hypocrites about the judgment and punishment of God that may come upon them. “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4) We should be mindful of the fact that at the time Jude wrote the epistle, the only available canonised Scripture was the Old Testament.

Jude sought to artfully tailor the Old Testament Scripture and the current happenings of his time. In other words, he employed ‘simile’ as a literary device to faithfully engineer the interpretation of the Old Testament Scripture to address the issues of his time, which pertained to false teachers and ungodliness in the church. Jude uses the said approach because he wants his audience to understand that the God of the Old Testament is still the God of their time and cannot be mocked. Although Jesus came to pay a price for the salvation of sinners and by that we are now beneficiaries of God’s grace, God will not hesitate to bring judgment and punishment upon those who unrepentantly abuse the grace of God in the Church of Christ by wilfully engaging in ungodliness. “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:5-7)

In the 21st century, our canonised Scripture is made up of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. At a time when the church is still battling with fake prophets and false teachings, homosexuality and all manner of ungodly behaviour, preachers of our time, like Jude, must engage in faithful interpretation of Scripture to ensure that the truth stands and becomes the light amidst the darkness of this world. We cannot engage in faithful engineering or interpretation of Scripture if we do not have time to study the Scripture and ask God for His Divine revelation. Jesus said to the disciples, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32). Jude knew and lived by Jesus’ words, was set free and became a true disciple. Jude is now engaged in the faithful engineering of the same Words that set him free to admonish those who are living blasphemous and ungodly lives in the Church.

It is now your turn to be a faithful engineer of God’s Word in your generation.  I encourage all faithful Christians to pray for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit while they learn the art of reading the scripture, gaining understanding, and faithfully applying the Scripture to throw light on existential issues of our time. Paul charged young Timothy to be a faithful engineer of the Gospel when he wrote that “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry.”( 2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Engineering is about being meticulous. I encourage all those who are charged with the noble assignment of preaching and interpreting the Word of God not to take it lightly because it is about the revival of dead souls and the liberation of souls from the shackles of sin. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us, even as we faithfully interpret the Scripture to overcome the false teachings of our time. Shalom.

PRAYER

ALMIGHTY GOD, WE PRAY FOR DIVINE WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE FOR ALL WHO CONTINUE TO BE FAITHFUL ENGINEERS OF YOUR WORD. LET THE HOLY SPIRIT CONTINUALLY INSPIRE US TO PREACH UNADULTERATED MESSAGES SO THAT YOUR CHURCH WILL BE EDIFIED FOR YOUR GLORY. AMEN