“Continue In The Lord, Rooted And Built Up In Him!”

“Continue In The Lord, Rooted And Built In Him!”(Col.2:1-7).
Saturday was a day of funerals as I attended three burials. One of the deceased was a bricklayer. He and his collegue were building a stone wall of a hospital. At midday they went for break. They ate and drank. Not long after closing from work he fell into a comma after complaining of stomach disorder. Before they rushed him to the hospital, he died. His friend who suffered the same stomach disorder was fortunate as he was rushed to the hospital and was remedied.
The other burial was that of an age mate who died in the US of A. And the third was a friend and age mate with whom we were apprenticed together to the same masters. He became a successful and well established carpenter in Mamfe town, while I left carpentry for a higher calling. The story is that he was brought home some two weeks before his death. For those two weeks he neither opened his eyes nor spoke a word to anybody.
At this last funeral I remembered another age mate who had died some 25 years ago. He was a very intelligent guy. He was a poet and musician, unfortunately neither his songs nor poems ever got to public view. I remembered him because their compound is next to that of my carpenter friend.
This friend who died 25 years ago once told me that the only thing he would have loved to become is to get mad for a short time to be able to know how mad people reason.
Talking about mad people, I’ve often wondered whether madness is not some kind of high intelligence! By the time I was leaving one of the funerals, a seemingly mad guy decided to walk me to my car in expectation of a tip; which he got. I told him I was going to funeral X. Hear his response: “I was at the funeral yesterday. I cannot go there today, otherwise they would consider me a “Vu ku ya!” Loosely translated “Vu ku ya” means, where is a funeral? So to say, a Vu ku ya is someone who depends on funerals for his daily bread. Can we say this guy is mad?
Dear friend, if you ask me, I may not tell you why I’ve brought these stories. But at least it is a reflection on the fickleness and meaninglessness of life.
Those who have gone in search of wisdom and carry big certificates are very humble people because they have arrived that point where it dawns on you that “the more you know, the more you know that you know nothing.”
True wisdom is found in Christ Jesus alone. My African icon, the venerated late Prof Kwame Bediako said whatever wisdom and knowledge we seek should be laid down at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is in the sense as Scriptures say if you “turn your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for ir as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God…”(Prov.2:1-8).
The Lord Jesus Christ says the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man finds it, he hides it again. In his joy he goes and sells everything he has and comes and buys the field(Mt.13:44-46).
Paul appeals to us to “be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that we may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that we may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge…” When we know this truth, we would not allow ourselves to be decieved by high sounding arguments.
Therefore,“just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, overflowing with thankfulness.”
This is complemented with this caution: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Yes, my friend; “Christ is our wisdom!” In Christ we have an everlasting treasure and wisdom that never derails!
“No one who is rightly minded turns from true belief to false”(Justin Martyr) True belief, knowledge, wisdom and understanding are in Christ. When we are rooted in him, we do not need to become mad to know how mad people reason. And whether we die untimely without saying a word, we will know that the wisdom of Christ in us will lead us into his presence.
Sunday prayer: Holy Spirit enable me to live in the Lord, rooted and built in him so that I’m not held captive by any hollow and deceptive philosophy. Amen!
Have a blessed Sunday! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.