Born of God

A dark family mystery of untimely deaths backed by an age-long covenant.

“I will make you so wealthy that you will never know poverty again, but there’s a price to pay. No man in your lineage shall live above 35 years of age. Ojije, the god who gives wealth, will seek the blood of these men as payment for your wealth. Do you agree to this covenant?” Baba, the chief priest to the deity Ojije, asked Johnson with his husky, deep, and coarse voice.

Johnson hesitated as the weight of the decision pressed down on him, but Peter’s confident nod reassured him. “Yes, I agree, Baba,” Johnson said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Baba’s eyes gleamed with a sinister satisfaction as he chanted an incantation, sealing the covenant. “It is done. Wealth shall follow you, but remember, the blood of the men in your lineage shall be the price.”

As they left the shrine, Peter slapped Johnson on the back. “Joe! It’s time to live your best life!” Johnson tried to smile, but an uneasy feeling troubled him.

Johnson’s heart pounded as he walked away from Baba’s place, his mind a whirlwind of fear and excitement. The promise of wealth beyond his wildest dreams overshadowed the ugly price to be paid.

This was 1946. Johnson, who came from a very poor background, had struggled financially but managed to graduate from the university. He had spent three years searching for a job without success. Convinced by his friend Peter, he visited the Ojije chief priest to help him become wealthy.

Johnson’s life took a dramatic turn after that fateful day in 1946. He amassed wealth rapidly, rising from poverty to become one of the most influential men in his region. His businesses flourished, his investments multiplied, and he lived in the lap of luxury.

True to Baba’s words, by the time Johnson passed away in the early 1980s, his sons had all met untimely deaths, none living past the age of 35. Even after his death, the second generation, Johnson’s grandsons, faced the same grim fate. Michael and Thomas, the last surviving men in the second generation, were also not spared.

Michael confided in his cousin Thomas as his 35th birthday approached. “Do you think we will live past 35 years or die like our dads did, leaving our sons and daughters fatherless, Tom?” Michael asked, his voice a mix of hope and despair.

Thomas sighed. “I don’t know, Mike. But we have to believe there’s a way out.”

Michael’s hope was shattered when he was found lifeless in his bed, seemingly in perfect health just a week after his birthday. Thomas, on the other hand, died in a tragic construction accident mere days before his 35th birthday. The deaths became a dark family mystery, never fully understood, only feared.

By the time the third generation came of age, those who knew about the mystery in the family were rooted in a cycle of fear. One day in 2024, Isaac, Michael’s son and Johnson’s great-grandson turned thirty-one years old, he noticed his mother was gloomy.

“Mom, today’s my birthday. I have just started my journey to the fourth floor. Why are you looking sad?” Isaac asked.

His mom, crying, sat him down and told him about the dark family mystery and how she was worried his time to die might be drawing closer. He was the next man in line to turn 35 in the family.

Isaac was at first gripped with fear and spent the entire day thinking about what he had heard from his mother. However, Isaac was different from all the men in the lineage; he had given his life to Christ and truly loved God. But he was still scared. It couldn’t be a coincidence that every man in Johnson’s lineage never lived past 35 years of age. Was he going to die as well?

That evening he couldn’t sleep. Instead of worrying, he decided to pray and study his Bible like always. This time, the prayer was more intense. After praying, he picked up his Bible and stumbled upon John 1:12–13:

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

A sense of peace washed over him as he realized the implication of these verses. He was now a child of God, no longer bound by his earthly lineage. He prayed some more, declaring this verse.

That night, Isaac dreamt of his ancestors and saw a scary shadowy figure approaching him. The spirit of Ojije, the god of wealth, had come to claim him. Isaac stood firm in his dream, a Bible in hand.

“I am a child of God,” he declared, his voice steady. “I am no longer bound by the covenants of my ancestors.”

Ojije’s spirit hissed in anger. “You belong to me, Isaac. Your blood is mine. Your great-grandfather gave you all to me.”

Suddenly, a brilliant light enveloped Isaac. A figure emerged from the light, standing as a shield between him and the spirit. It was Jesus, His presence radiating divine authority.

“He is mine,” Jesus declared. “Isaac is now born of God, no longer of human descent. Your covenant is broken.”

Ojije shrieked and vanished into the darkness, unable to challenge the authority of Christ.

Isaac woke up, drenched in sweat but filled with an unshakable sense of peace. He gathered the rest of the family, sharing the dream he had. “We have lived under a covenant we knew nothing about for generations, but it ends now. Jesus Christ has set us free.” They listened and prayed together, renouncing the covenant made by Johnson in the name of Jesus.

Years passed, and Isaac’s family began to experience a freedom they had never known. The men in the family lived past 35 years and saw their children’s children, prosperous in their personal and professional lives.

To believe in Jesus is to become born of God, making you God’s child. Your lineage is now from God. Your bloodline is now God’s bloodline. No covenant or curse on your earthly lineage can work in your life anymore as God is now your Father. Know this, believe this and bask in this truth all the days of your life. God is responsible for you, and our God is a responsible Father.

John 1:12–13

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Psalm 82:6

I have said, Ye are gods; And all of you are children of the Most High.

1 John 5:4

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.