Great things happen to those who believe in God – Fr. Jikson

Reverend Father Jikson Mullasseril, the priest in charge of the Society of St. Paul (SSP) Catholic Church, Obawole Estate, Iju, Lagos, has called on Christians all over the world to extend their joy to others during this season of Christmas.

Father Jikson, as he is fondly called, in a message delivered at the weekend, said that anyone who restricts his or her joy this period was not a believer of God. He said that great things happen to those who believe in the word of God; like it was written in the Bible.Illustrating his point with many scriptural examples, he said, “There are no two ways about it. Great things happen to those who believe.

Let us look at Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was from the local and obscure town of Nazareth, an illiterate young girl who was betrothed to an ordinary carpenter, Joseph. She was about getting married, she found peace and she was about settling down when Angel Gabriel appeared to her to give her the hardest message that she did not expect.

“She was not the only virgin in those days yet the message came to her. She could have as well weighed the implications of the message and rejected it but because she believed, she answered a big ‘yes’.
“That yes would have cost her many things. That great yes would have cost her dignity, respect and led to disgrace but, because she believed, she replied angel Gabriel, ‘Let it be according to your words’.

“Really, people were going to mock her and her fiancé was going to reject her. As envisaged, Joseph wanted to reject her, but an angel warned him to take her as his wife. Because Joseph believed, great things happened to him.”
The outlined how a decision taken in firm belief of the word of God led to so many other great things happening down the road: “Mary, an illiterate young girl, became the mother of Jesus and she was exalted to the highest position in the world. When she visited Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, the child in her womb leaped when she heard the greeting of Mary, and Elizabeth and her household were filled with the Holy Spirit.

She exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.’
“What a great joy! For Joseph, he became the head of the family where Jesus was raised. What a big promotion to a carpenter that became the foster father of our saviour, Jesus.”

“Great things really happen to those who believe,” Fr. Jikson continued, telling his audience, “Remember the centurion whose servant was ill, he came to Jesus for healing and Jesus told him that, because he believed, his servant would be healed. And it was so. The servant was healed. What about the woman with the issue of blood? She touched the garment of Jesus and Jesus said, because she believed, her faith had made her well.

“What of the two blind men? They came for healing and Jesus asked whether they believed he could do it for them. They answered, yes. He said because they believed, they should receive their sight. And, really, they received their sight.

“There are many examples in the Bible. Once you believe, great things will happen to you. Are you looking for the fruit of the womb? Believe and you will get it.”
Father Jikson, however, warned, “if you believe in the word of God, you should give to the needy.”
“Give to the poor. Visit the abandoned, especially old people and children. How do you feel when you are eating and your neighbour has nothing to eat? Please, give, share and extend your joy to others this Christmas. Bless people as God blessed you. Don’t restrict your joy to yourself,” he said.