By Stephen Wolemonwu

Isaiah 25:9 says: “And it shall be said in that day, lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

According to 1Corinthians 15:19: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”

There are dangers and the land is ravaged by hunger. There are fears and worries; there are uncertainties here and there.

Today, most people are confused, and many do not know what to do anymore. People are facing betrayal on daily bases.

In today’s world trust is becoming a ‘stale story’ in our world today. In all ofthese, God has a salvation plan.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us, while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8, NLT).

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself; no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation, (2Corinthians 5:19, NLT).

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, (1John 4:10, KJV).

Immediately after the fall of man; God initiated an escape route; known as proto-evangelium —‘the first gospel.’

Genesis 3:15 says: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This is the Bible’s earliest prophecy, stating that the offspring (“seed”) of the woman will destroy the serpent (Satan).

This passage predicts that while the devil will harm the Messiah (strike his heel), the Messiah will win an ultimate, fatal victory (crush the head); and today, we celebrate that victory through the Easter Anthem and celebration.

Do we really need to be saved? Do you as a person need to be saved? What are we to be saved from?

The world translated: “he will save us” is from the Hebrew phrase meaning to be rescued. It is a comprehensive rescue from Yahweh. It encompassesboth deliverance from physical dangers, includingthe enemies, as well as spiritual salvation.

God saving us is out of his love for mankind. When the Bible talks about God’s love in the first Epistle of John, it presents God’s love as the heart of the gospel: which originates in God, revealed through Christ, and reflected by the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.

To live in God’s love is to live free from fear, assured of eternal life and committed to loving others

• The Ven. Stephen Wolemonwu, Rector, The Ibru International Ecumenical Centre 08035413812; [email protected]