He doesn’t bite

Hello Royal! How are you doing today?

I’m excited to share this particular episode with you; I’m telling you another story today, so let’s get into it already!

During my NYSC (a program set up by the Nigerian government to involve Nigerian graduates in nation building and the development of the country. So most times, the graduates are usually posted to a different state from where they’ve ever lived) last year, God granted me access to a family whom I’ve been referring to as my foster family in previous blog posts.

The first day I followed them home from church, I met a very cute, white Eskimo dog in the house. Now, I’m not a fan of dogs🙊. They’re awesome creatures, friendly and loyal to their owners, but I’m very much afraid of them. I don’t even know a breed by merely looking at it, I have to be told. That’s how uninterested I’ve been- it’s that bad🤭

So on that day, I watched how my foster family played with Snow White – that’s the name of the dog. The dog was so cheery around them, and sometimes she’d run to me in that mood but I’ll run away because I was afraid. They kept telling me that she wasn’t trying to harm me, that she was just trying to play with me, but because of my fear, I couldn’t risk being relaxed around a dog whom I’ve never known.

Although Snow White was beautiful and friendly, I was afraid of a relationship with her because I thought she’d bite me.

With time, as I stayed in the house, I loosened up. Whenever she came around me, I’d summon some courage to rub her head or her back. Then I started dropping food crumbs for her whenever I was eating and I’d call her name severally. Our relationship continued to grow until I could now comfortably carry her and take pictures with her. Sometimes we’d play hide-and-seek in the compound. Each passing moment with her became a more interesting one as we grew more comfortable with each other.

How did I move from being afraid, to being comfortable around her? What changed?

Initially, I had a tainted view of Snow White, so I had to first accept that she won’t harm me. Snow White did not change, something about me did.

This is just like starting a relationship with God. Because man naturally has a sinful nature, he is usually afraid of coming in contact with the goodness and love of the Father. We all know the consequences of sin to be death, and like I was with Snow White, the natural man is afraid of coming in contact with God.

He is afraid of God’s perfection and holiness, he thinks God is going to lash out on him in anger and maybe even wipe him out of existence.

Do you remember the story of Adam in the garden of Eden? When he sinned, he became afraid and tried to hide himself from God.
It’s like darkness being afraid of light, because of the influence that light will have on it. Someone who lies or steals for example is usually in panic mode whenever they are around a person who is likely to expose them.

As long as I remained afraid, I couldn’t relate with Snow White. I’d usually not stay wherever she was because I was afraid of being attacked by her. I remember that sometimes, the whole family would be in the sitting room alongside Snow White but I’d stay in my room because I was afraid, or I’d request that she’ll be caged so that I can be free to walk around the house.

Our fear puts a distance between us and God, and staying distant from God shortchanges us because it is in our relationship with Him that we have access to the rich and satisfying life He has planned for us.

Unafraid

You probably have heard about how other gods deal with their offenders, and how very scared the worshippers usually are. They appear before their deities in fear and trembling, careful not to act wrongly or transgress because of the instant punishment or death that will follow if anything goes wrong.

However, our God, the true God, the loving God is not like that. Like He did with Adam in the garden, he still comes after us, even if we’re in a mess.

No matter how dirty your body is, in the literal sense now, you shouldn’t be afraid of water if you have a desire to be clean. I think there’s an African Proverb that beautifully captures that statement. I can’t remember how exactly it is, but we can’t shy away from the very substance that is meant to make us clean. The water is not afraid of the dirt on your body, it is not intimidated by the magnitude of the dirt, because it is capable of making you clean. If you run away from water when you’re dirty, what else would you depend on to make you clean?

In the same vein, it doesn’t matter the gravity of your sin. What is the worst sin you can think of? That sin was forgiven when the blood of Jesus was poured out for us.
Dear Royal, I am echoing the word of God which says there is no sin that the blood of Jesus couldn’t cleanse. It was beautifully captured in a book that the same blood that cleansed the witch is the same blood that cleansed the moral businessman. It doesn’t matter what you have done, your current spiritual state doesn’t matter too. All you need to do is come as you are. It also doesn’t matter if you have been living a moral life all this while. The Bible says all have sinned, and that is not a function of our actions because the sinful nature is an inherent one. We didn’t choose it, it flowed from Adam to us all. Does that mean we’re all hopeless? No!

Romans 3:25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.  

God desires to have a relationship with you, and I’m sure you desire it too because man was wired for relationship. The first step towards that is accepting and believing that God doesn’t bite, He is not going to grab you like a predator who has been lying in ambush for its prey. I don’t want you to see God as one judge who has been looking out for your slightest mistake, so that he can sentence you to death. If that was his character or his intention towards you, he would have killed you long ago because he is powerful and nothing is hidden in his presence. It would have been just a matter of blinking his eyes, and you’re gone. But He hasn’t done that, because He wants you!

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 that God is not willing for anyone to perish, but that all should come to repentance. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. I want you to consider this day, as your day. This is your time and this is your chance. It’s an awesome time to be alive, isn’t it?

You can start by believing that when Jesus sacrificed his life and shed his blood for the world, your own sins were forgiven too. You can take a step further to express your gratitude for this show of love. Because of your faith in what God has done, that is the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross for your sins, you have escaped the punishment of death that you were meant to suffer, you have now passed from death to life. Glory to God! 💃

John 5:24 I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

 

Alright, I was saying… you can take a further step to appreciate God in prayer. You may want to say:
Father, I believe that all my sins were paid for, when Christ bled and died on the cross. Thank you for taking the punishment I was supposed to suffer. Thank you for transiting me from death to life.
Amen!

If you said this prayer, I’ll like to have a chat with you. I’ll like to know your beautiful experience as you continue on this new life’s journey. Kindly send a message to me using the contact me page of this site.

Thank you Dear Royal for reading. Remember that God doesn’t bite, you can approach Him for anything, and not just for the forgiveness of your sins. God bless you!

Love always,
Gem ♥

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