(BY VEN. FOLUSO TAIWO)

“From the beginning, God created the world from obscurity. He created man with and as rational beings, with their actions and inactions everything was okay for man to enjoy before the fall of man.”

This was the submission of the Bishop of Oyo Anglican Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Williams Aladekugbe at the Lenten programme of the Diocese of Abuja tagged, “The Way of the Cross.” He said man fell from glory, from relationship with God on account of disobedience and so, the state of man became precarious, hence the estrangement between God and man. According to the Bishop of Oyo diocese- man became alienated from God, separated from Him, hence the communication between God and man was broken, adding that it is a result of these that man had no free access to God, grace of glory was lost and there is gap between God and man till today.

The erudite scholar said man has lost everything, hence there is no longer peace; it is the loss of a total being. Disobedience, he alluded always bring disunity and total collapse of cordiality, total loss of peace and fellowship.

The Cleric said however that the good news today is that the God who was offended has brought man back to Himself, because His mercy endureth forever, adding that instead of God begging the offended; it is God the offended that is begging man as recorded in Isaiah 1:18. God is reconciling man to Himself.

The Bishop of Oyo diocese (Anglican Communion) said the initiative of reconciliation and restoration came from God, therefore He shifted His kingdom from heaven to the earth, thus restoring man to Himself through the sacrificial death of Christ and the atonement.

He opined that the Liturgy of the Anglican Church is very rich, showing that Jesus is a perfect one and that God has called man from darkness to His marvelous light.