Henry Akubuiro
The Greatest Reality Show, Melvin Ejiogu, Veemost Publishing Service, New Jersey, 2020
How often do you see a work of fiction in which God Almighty, Jesus, Angel Michael and Satan are characters? In Melvin Ejiogu’s debut work, The Greatest Reality Show, you have one before you. Drawing from biblical sources, the author limns unique attributes of immortal beings to create a riveting storyline of what transpired in heaven before and after the creation of the world and our roles on earth thereafter.
The book is targetted at those who yearn for more knowledge about this incredible life. If you find the arcane language of scripture difficult to grasp, this book offers you an opportunity to explore the world of religion and spirituality in simpler ways.
Interestingly, half of the book is narrated from God’s point of view, which helps the readers see the creation of the world from a unique, intimate perspective that proves our creation was not only intentional but designed with love and incredible detail.
The second half is narrated by the author himself, and showcases a condensed summary of his journey as a seventeen-year-old boy who came to America by himself, made some mistakes along the way and corrected them.
The book, besides, has been designed for those who want to gain more wisdom and understanding of the world around them, irrespective of their religion or level of spirituality. Also, Ejiogu’s offering presents the idea of life as a reality show, with us men and women being the actors, the stage being the whole earth, and the director being our God.
According to Ejiogu, “Anyone who has a relationship with His maker would understand the role they are supposed to play and play it well. When they make a mistake, they will be corrected and will continue to remain in His will. They will end up fulfilling their role on earth perfectly. And what happens when an actor plays their part very well? They get an award.”
Told in the first person point of view, God begins the narrative from the beginning of time: ‘It was a day just like any other day. I looked around, and I was still all alone. I have been like this forever. I have been right here the whole time”.
We are told how God projected himself in a physical form to give birth to His Son, Jesus the Christ: “Jesus and I are one. He is the way I chose to be seen… He is One with me, and I am in Him, therefore, He, too, is eternal.”
The story of how heaven began will delight you, as well as how the earth came to be, especially things not chronicled in the Bible, in terms of the illuminating discussions between God and His Son, Jesus. The first living creature created in the book were the angels, created through Jesus: “As each angel comes to life, the first person they saw was Jesus.”
Lucifer is the highest ranking angel while Michael is the leader of the warring angels. Lucifer is presented as a scheming, proud angel, which leads to his downfall. “… he shall be henceforth called Satan. He shall also be stripped of his glorious beauty and position, but we will live him with powers I granted him…,” declares a bemused Jesus afterwards.
There was peace on earth, narrates God, before Satan interrupted heaven and got permission to tempt man. Adam and Eve were the first victims of his powers. Centuries after that fall from grace to grass, man has continued to be manipulated. The first part of Ejiogu’s book ends with life under the law era with the heroics of Moses.
Ejiogu takes us, in the second part, to the coming of Jesus to the earth as part of God’s plan God to dwell among men in physical form. The book teems with the testimony of the apostles and explains mysteries of the Old Testament.
The voice of the author echoes in the book for the first in part three. Addressing his “fellow actors” in the ongoing reality show, Ejiogu says: “I, the writer, am back.” The humorous angle, at this juncture, doesn’t reduce the seriousness of the book. It sets the stage for the author to tell contemporary stories that have heuristic and spiritual imports.
The author’s faith journey, which comes up in the fourth part of the book, from a party-going sinner to a spell of adversities and to becoming a saved soul, is inspiring to many people in the same shoes and dilemma.
Of particular interest is the childlessness his family experienced for six years, which opened his eyes to the fact that a man’s sin could be a deterrence in securing important gifts in life. We see him gradually working on himself spiritually to embrace Christ, thus, laughing last and loudest. This interesting book is recommended to all. It echoes the marvels of creation and the triumph of the spirit.