Francis 'Jide MAKINWA

 

“We are no more slaves, Jesus Christ has saved us and redeemed us. He brought us into light, made us children of God and brought meaning into our lives. This is our greatest joy at Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This assertion was made by the Catholic Bishop of Osogbo Diocese; Most Rev. John Akin Oyejola on Christmas Day at St. Benedict Catholic Cathedral, Osogbo, Osun State.

  The Prelate said God is the beginning and the end. It was out of His love that He created us. God gave us the freedom to make choices and the power to create like Him.  Hence, man is empowered to think, design and build houses, cars, etc. Unfortunately, through our pride we lost the grace to be like God. However, God never stops loving humanity and at the end, He decided to send His Son, Jesus Christ. He became man and dwelt amongst us (Matthew 1:23).  He brought us light and we saw his glory in our midst. In every way, Jesus listened to his father, never disobeyed Him, even to the point of death.

  Bishop Oyejola further said that Jesus came to show us how to be children of God and make God our Father. This simply demands of us to listen to God and follow his instructions. Jesus has called us to learn to resemble the Father; learn to love, learn to forgive, learn to serve others, learn to help people make meaningful decisions of their lives, and not to bring pains or suffering on others. God wants to see everyone happy.

  In conclusion, Bishop Oyejola said we have seen Jesus' glory. We are his witnesses and we are to bring love, joy and happiness into the world. We are expected to go out and accept others in love.

He admonished all to be strong in faith. “Let your faith reflects in your way of life and be true witnesses because of the salvation we have received,” he said.