WHO KNOWS THE HOUR?

Dearly Beloved, WHO KNOWS THE HOUR? "Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come?" (Ecclesiastes 9:12 NIV). The death of Reverend Josiah Adegoke Adeleke (1967-2005), my mentor, friend, and brother in Christ, in a ghastly auto accident with another friend, Reverend Chris Tayo Orodiji (1973-2005), on Tuesday January 11, 2005 is still a mirage to me. In spite of the fact that I was there at the mortuary giving them final bath and dressing in preparation for their burial, and the fact that I was one of those that lowered their coffins into their graves, I still find it difficult to believe that those two great men of God who died at their prime age in active service have gone forever. I will see them only in heaven when I also die or at the marriage feast of the Lamb after the rapture of the saints. Both of them were very intimate friends who had shared with me many things about our personal, educational, and especially ministerial endeavors. So, all the plans, dreams, and aspirations they had have gone with them unfulfilled! So, they have abandoned their promising ministerial careers for the rest of us! So, they will not publish those books they have written their outlines! So, they have left their wives and very young children behind to face the struggles of life alone! So, they have.... Their short lives and sudden death are indeed a challenge to the living that "Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.... Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed…. But man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep" (Job 14:1-5, 10-12 NIV). Their short lives and sudden death are a strong confirmation of the words of Solomon, "'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless,'" and "What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:22 NIV). What really are we living for if death can render everything meaningless within seconds without warning? Why are we struggling to become somebody on earth when it is certain that we will leave everything one day? This makes the words of Paul in Philippians 1:21 relevant here: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (NIV). Living for Jesus Christ will make our living on earth meaningful and our death a gain for us. GOKE and TAYO lived for Christ and their death is indeed a gain for them and Jesus Christ. Who are you living for? Their short lives and sudden death are now a warning to me that I have to "discharge all the duties of [my] ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5 NIV). Again, the words of Paul to Archippus clearly come to mind: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord" (Colossians 4:17 NIV). I have to be up and doing because I do not know when God will also call me home. I do not know what people will say when I am no more. I do not know whether my Lord will commend me with words like, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21 NIV). I do not know.... Their short lives and sudden death are indeed a challenge and a warning to us to "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV). If those two great men of God could die at their prime age, then, anyone may be the next to be called home. Let me conclude with these words of Solomon, "Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them" (Ecclesiastes 9:12 NIV). In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). NB This message was first sent out on January 30, 2005. I am sending it out again in honour of these two late revered ministers of God.