THE POWER OF THE KEY!!! On the 18th of December 2008, I had cruised to town in my former car , which was barely 8 months old. My mission was to purchased some bundles of zinc for the roofing of Fr Nicholas Ncha Obi Memorial Hostel. I withdrew #245,000 from Eco bank in Ogoja and drove to the dealers shop along mission road, close to the mosque, where I parked my car. Prior to this time, I had a premonition or should I say a flesh of revelation that the atmosphere was not safe. Consequently, I didnt drive straight to dealers shop and drove randomly around ogoja metropolis before settling for my actual destination. This was to distract any monitoring by anybody but unfortunately this was not the case. I finished bargaining the price for the zinc and thereafter came to collect the money, which I ignorantly left in my locked car for safety; but regrettably, the money was gone. Onlookers later informed me that some opened my locked and carried a leather bag and they presumed that he came with me. He had a master key and with it had access to my car and stole#245,000 but my own key was still in my possession intact. A key is a symbol of authority; to posses a key is to be conferred with authority. In the gospel reading of today(Matt16:13-20), Jesus said to Peter I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. This promise was as a result of Peters answer to the Christological question posed by Jesus to his discipleswho do people say that the Son of Man is? Possessing the key is to posses the authority over that which the keys open. The earliest use of this imagery is in the first reading of today (Is22:22), which involves the house of David. The language of authority, open- shut, is not dissimilar to bind and loose. The authority of Peter is to be over the the church, and the authority is represented by the keys. This authority was also given to the other apostles in communion Peter ( cf Matt 18:18,; 28:17-20; Mk 16:14-18; Jon 20:19-23) . This authority is for service and must be exercised in charity, taking into cognizance that the leader himself lives in the limitations of men. It is, therefore, not meant for Lordship or exploitation. Those who occupy positions of authority whether civil or ecclesiastical, must always remember that, they are mere servants of the people they lead and that their authority to lead comes from God( cf ROM. 13: 1ff), who in Christ Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to offer His life as a sacrifice for others. The ultimate price of service is, therefore, sacrifice. Those who do not lead in accordance with Gods will, will be disgraced out office and the honour given to someone else as in the case of Eliakim and Shebna in the first reading. I do not know who is the Eliakim, that is occupy the government house come 2015 and other Eliakims to occupy the senatorial seats, the seats in the national and states assemblies. Whoever God will choose through the peoples votes,should bear in mind that his authority should be one of service and not lordship ,for the common good of the electorate. The electorate ought to know that their votes are their authorities and should not abuse it, else they will suffer the consequences of the abuse of their voting authority. The keys that Christ gave to Peter and other apostles, is also given to believers in Christ Jesus (cf Matt18:18; Mk16:17-18). This is because by virtue of our faith and baptism, christian believers, are configured to Christ and therefore share in His threefold office of Priest, King and Prophet. We exercise this authority in a unique way, when we pray in agreement. Prayer,therefore, is the master key in hand of a Christian. With prayer, we can unlock the gate to our blessings!!!! Do you have your keys intact? Have you misplaced yours? Have you abandoned yours? It is time to posses your possession, it is time to rise up with your master key and unlock what has been locked. God is waiting for you to fulfil the plans he has in store for you since the foundation of the world. God bless!!! Happy new week!!!
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 15:04:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015