There are depths before heights. And indeed, the hope of resurrection is an offspring of an event called death. It is when you die that we can expect you to live. However, I am beginning to sense that you detest the word death. Your muscles tighten, and your teeth clench at the picture death brings you. Be relaxed. I don’t want you to die. I am only pointing out a fact: Life starts from death. I hope you get it now. It is such a paradox.
Come to think of it. To grow maize, its grain has to be buried in the ground. Then, the sprouting, the shooting forth of the blades. You can see it. You are even seeing something different, I guess. You are seeing a fully budded maize, and your thoughts are already going into how that will end up in your buccal cavity. It’s good. But I want you to ask yourself: where did this miracle begin? How is it that I can expect some kind of nourishment now? Well, you should have figured out the answer by now: some seeds were buried in the soil. That was how the whole story started.
What happens to someone the whole time they are buried? Obscurity! No one sees a buried man, except by illusions of course. That moment you are buried, that moment you are experiencing death, you don’t get noticed. You don’t have to worry about that. Nobody nominates you for Miss World, nobody invites you to the treat of the who-is-who. You are just all by yourself. Does that truth hurt? It doesn’t have to, actually. It’s just a normal phenomenon.
The very essence of depth is to afford you the stability your desired height requires. It makes you last. You don’t want to be a nine-hour-wonder, I believe. So, don’t jump the guns. Stay in line.
And here is a profound truth: the very grave where death is consummated is where resurrection begins. And the brilliance that resurrection exudes, who can stand it? That brilliance is ever-increasing, upwards tending, and never diminishing.
What is all this death stuff? Find a purpose to live for, avoid distractions, and put all of your focus on that purpose. That’s the tripartite summary of death. Be single-eyed. Very shortly, you will cross the line between death and life. And once you are in the folds of life, you are far from the suction of death.
Take some time to die! And you will live again!
Johnson Oyero 