Religion
A cleric, Rev. Ayodeji Ikumapayi, on Friday, warned evil perpetrators to desist, saying their evil deeds would count against them when they are no more.
Ikumapayi, the Priest in Charge of St. Thomas Anglican Church, Ibadan, gave the warning in his sermon at a funeral service held for the late Oladejo Olatoye, a former Deputy Editor-in-Chief with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
NAN reports that the late Olatoye was also a one-time Zonal Manager, Ibadan Zonal Headquarters of the agency and Fellow of Nigerian Guild of Editors (FNGE).
Olatoye, who retired from the agency after 35 years in service, died at the age of 78 on Dec. 7 during a brief illness.
NAN also reports that the cleric’s message was entitled: “Living Our Lives With the End In Mind” with the text from Ecclesiastes 7 verses 1-2.
Ikumapayi said: “If you are the type of person that perpetrated electoral fraud in the just- concluded general elections, you are not living with the end in mind.
“All those that are perpetrating evil in the society, be it financial fraud or all manners of evil, are not living with their end in mind.”
He described the late Olatoye as someone who abhorred evil deeds and lived a fulfilled life.
“Olatoye was a lover of children and people around him. He nurtured many great people in the church and those that came close to him,” the cleric said.
Ikumapayi urged the deceased’s children to always show love to people around them and dedicate themselves to the work of God, as exhibited by their late father during his lifetime.
“By all human assessments, Baba Olatoye used all he had to serve God; he was able to train his children in the way of the Lord.
“If Baba had not trained his children and be friendly with people around him, he might not have been celebrated when the breadth stopped.
“Death will surely come one day, but what will be the most significant thing about you when the breadth stops? What will you be remembered for?,” he queried.
The cleric reminded those at the burial service that, “when a child is born, people always rejoice and are happy, but when people died, they begin to cry and mourn.
“We have forgotten that whenever anyone dies in Christ, we don’t need to mourn because we already know where the person is; our end matters with the way the Lord has designed it,”
He buttressed his sermon with the three designs of the Lord, saying, “Phase one is the physical death. This is not the end of the ending, because it is general, as everybody will participate.
“But in part two, it is not going to be general, because it will be the most delicate for some people, as not all that died will be in the second part.
“There be will no chance for explanation; no excuses because it is for judgment, when the final whistle is blown.
“The question, therefore, is what will you be remembered for when the breathing stopped? I advise each and everyone of us to live our lives with the end in mind.
“We must all remember that the end will come one day where reward and award would be given; therefore, it is not too late to give your life to Christ,” he said.
The first daughter of the deceased, Mrs Yetunde Olatoye-Adeyemi, said that her father was a lover of children, adding that he never joked with the welfare of every member of his family.
Olatoye-Adeyemi said that she would always remember all the instructions given by her father to all his children in his dying period.
“Our late father proved himself as a nobleman and God-fearing fellow. We will forever miss his words of inspiration and encouragement.
“We will forever be grateful to God for giving us such a father. He taught us to fear God in all our actions,” she said. (NAN)
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Tags: Rev. Ayodeji Ikumapayi
