Gospel

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We knew that crocodiles eat people. We were aware of some isolated cases of people who had been mauled by crocs. But swimming in the sand beach of Kisui (Lake Victoria in Kenya) was so much fun that the fear of the possibility of becoming a crocodile's lunch couldn't keep us away. 

Abayo Wuon Osumba was one old man we loved to hate. Reason? Abayo used to sneak behind the reeds and bushes near the beach to reach our clothes and wait for us. In the rural country-side, we knew nothing about swimming costumes. If it was swimming, it was a case of removing all the clothes and swimming—stark naked.

Being so absorbed in swimming and shouting at the top of our voices as we swam, Abayo used to catch us unawares. He would come and collect our clothes in a heap and sit near them, waiting. Whenever each one of us saw him, we would know that we were in for some good lashings. As we came out of the water, each of us would get two or three lashes on the wet naked body before Abayo could release the clothes.

Why was Abayo caning us?  Abayo was a self-styled custodian of children's safety. It was dangerous swimming in the crocodile infested water. Chances of a crocodile pouncing on us was as open as the lake we were swimming in. Since Abayo didn't use to come to the beach every day, we used to take chances, hoping that he wouldn't come. 

It took an encounter with a crocodile one day to change our attitude toward Abayo. We were well into the deepest part we could ever manage to reach when we saw a crocodile approaching us from the shore. There was only one direction to go and it was the same direction the crocodile was approaching from.

The croc had been basking in the sun just near where we had left our clothes. It was likely that all this time we were swimming the reptile was just there watching. Crocodiles hardly have enough to make them forgo a meal that avails itself in its territory. We were about eight of us. We knew that at least one was going to be eaten alive that afternoon—there was no question about that. The only question was: Who is it going to be?

Even if one was going to survive, the thought of the possibility of being eaten was traumatising. I can't bring you to feel what it feels to face a crocodile that is obviously going to tear your flesh apart.

There is a lot of fun in this world. Some of them are so costly but we don't want to think about the cost. There are Abayos out there whom we love to hate. If Abayo tells us that he loves us and that is why he is lashing us, it sounds ridiculously paradoxical that we fail to make sense out of it. By the time we encounter the crocodile, it would be too late. 

What, really, is wrong with us human beings? I know a man who was married to a very beautiful young woman. Another man, Sedics (not his real name)  who had a problem with lust and who happened to be extremely seductive decided to seduce this woman. He succeeded in convincing her to have an affair with him. Sedics was doing this when he had overheard the husband of the woman swear that if he knew that his wife was unfaithful, he would cut the man responsible into pieces with a machete. Sedics thought he wouldn't be caught, but wasn't he?

Most people know that the worst that can ever happen to anyone is death, yet it is not uncommon to find people gambling with what they cannot afford to lose—life. This may surprise many but the truth is that the worst that can ever happen to anyone is not death per se. If someone refuses to believe in God, there is the illusion that death is the end. This means that fear (of death) is only at the imminence; the process and finally the point of death. After this, one hopes to turn into nothingness. If God exists—and He does—He never made a mistake in this one, that is, making it unworkable to know of His existence. He sent His Son to the world hardly one million days ago as at the time of writing this article (2nd , September 2005).

Fellow human beings, the worst that can happen to man is not death, it is, however, dying without having reconciled with God through Christ’s settlement of the debt of sin. Life is not all about fun. Fun has its place but we cannot sacrifice our eternal life because of fun, selfishness or rebellion, etc.

If God has been to you like Abayo was to us—someone who frustrates your involvement with fun—I am here to tell you that you may not wish to wait for a crocodile’s jaw to show you the consequences of defying the “cane”.

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, consider accepting Him into your life today. If you have been playing religion without really having a relationship with God through Christ, you need to get down to business—let Christ revolutionise your life. If you don't know how to go about receiving Christ as your  Lord and Saviour, or if you need to learn more about this Jesus, contact me through [email protected].

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