A league with a difference

Sep 04, 2022 News

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==My Testimony==

By Sharmain Grainger

Kaieteur News – Some among us are aspiring to be, or are already in the ‘big league’ which, according to the Oxford dictionary, is “a very successful and important group”.  In our world, those in such a group have immense influence at various levels of society.

But gaining membership, I was made to understand, is not just for anybody since you must have some exceptional talent and/or dinero aplenty, or at the very least, the right ‘looks’, providing you have links to the right people.  While there are other factors, such as your perceived dominant or submissive nature, that can grant you access, your pedigree can determine just how worthy you are of being included.

Given the foregoing, the majority of humanity (myself included) knows that they have no chance of accessing this so-called ‘big league’ since they simply do not qualify in the least.

But based on my simplistic outsider view, the pleasure of being a desired member of this group could be short-lived if one wrong move is made.

For those whose ultimate goal is to join this widely sought-after ‘big league’, I ask the following questions: Have you ever wondered how the famous (perceived high and mighty) can become infamous (fall from grace), sometimes overnight?  Why must a person be condemned to live in a bubble in which fighting (sometimes dirty) to stay relevant is a primary requirement? Where is the joy in always having to watch your back, literally, or risk being undermined in one way or another?

If these questions bother your psyche, do read on.

For those who may be trapped in the ‘big league’ and need a way out or even those who were deceived into thinking they have no place in this world, there is hope for everyone of you to gain access to a ‘better league’. The entry requirement is to simply come as you are, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and your household,” Acts 16:31. Hallelujah!

Regardless of how you look at life, there are only two logical paths – good or evil – and these forces are always vying for our attention.  It is for this reason that I must do my part to bring to you good news – the good news that Jesus offers to all and sundry, an open invitation to His ‘righteous league’ through which you can have everlasting life with Him. He doesn’t hide that there will be some difficulties while we remain here on this blighted earth but he does promise that it gets better if we keep our eyes on Him.

High profile contacts can only do so much for you but having a ‘friend in Jesus’ translates to having access to divine guidance, peace of mind, restful sleep, joy in your heart and a surreal level of contentment. You will come to the realisation that each day He allows you to see, it is another opportunity to do His bidding to the hilt. For the goal, when the time is right, is for Him to say the famous words: “…well done my good and faithful servant!” Matthew 25:21.

While some might be skeptical, many have, at the very least, an expectation that there is more to this life than meets the naked eyes. Although we may be able to control some outcomes, after centuries of mankind’s existence on this earth, many are today well aware that no amount of wealth, can buy happiness, or immorality for that matter. It boggles the mind that there are some among us who desire to remain resident on this calamitous oblate spheroid for eternity? Surely there must be something better than the here and now!

Not that we should be courting a hurried expiration date here, but it makes absolutely no sense to embrace the temporal as if our existence is dependent on that alone?  According to 2 Corinthians 4:18 in the bible, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

The best thing about being inducted into the ‘Jesus League’ is that He doesn’t expel you even if you make a wrong move, and this is emphasised at Romans 8:1, “…there is no co

 

ndemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

I am not sharing about Jesus today to just evoke conversation but to remind you that time is of the essence. Choosing Jesus is in fact choosing a deal of a life-time, something I am even now experiencing for myself, and with His help (can you comprehend that He can literally help you in every area of your life) I will endure as my aim is to “…press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 3:14.

As I highlighted last week, He is continually rooting for us to choose the path of righteousness because He wants the best for us. Mankind will disappoint you but based on my experience He never does. Even when things are not as expected, He gives you grace to persevere. Even if people are against you (and some will be), He reminds at Romans 8, “³¹If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³³Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴Who then will condemn us? No one…”

Given what I am privileged to have because of Jesus, how can I simply sit and be quiet when there are many people in the world thinking that there is absolutely no hope for them. Some are convinced that they are destined to live an unremarkable life because they were born into the ‘wrong family’, are down on their luck because of a bad financial decision, or for whatever reason, have settled to be life’s pushovers. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 15:57.

While money and power in this world can indeed do a great deal, it pales in comparison to what Jesus brings to the table.  It is not that He will make you a wealthy or acceptable person in society (I’m not saying he can’t), but the peace, joy and love that He puts in your heart transforms you into a person who understands that in Jesus you are ‘safe and secure’ even on the worst of days.

While most would agree that being wealthy and miserable might be better than living in squalor, there are some within the affluent class, whose sense of security becomes non-existence by virtue of their status. As a result, they are lured into a deceptive mindset that the desired security can be bought. But rich or poor, once you’ve chosen ‘His league’, Jesus will take care of you. According to Psalms 34: “¹⁹The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all,” and “…you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security,” Job 11:18.

 

 

 

 

 

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