“I wonder why I became a Christian. Things have been very difficult for me ever since I became a Christian; my situation is getting worse and worse and I don’t seem to find my bearing. It’s not that I am not grateful to God; it’s just that I have to be honest to my self. I pray, read my bible and I believe and nothing seems to change. I borrow money all the time because I have to pay tithe and offerings to the church. Life is unbearable for me, with my tiny salary, I have to sponsor my wife through school, feed, clothe her and now with the arrival of the new baby, I just feel like running away, far, very far away into the Tundra region. I am fed up; I think I should go back to my 419 business where everything seemed to work. You know what? I need more money, tons of money.†Musa said with a lot of anguish on his face.
Lara stared straight into his eyes and said “You don’t need more money, you only need wisdomâ€
“Have you ever wondered how Jesus was able to feed 5,000 people with 5 loaves and two fishes?†she asked.
He immediately replied “That’s a miracle, you don’t expect me to do that anywayâ€
“Why cant you? Everything we do in life is a miracle; it just the way we perceive it.â€
“Are you saying you can do miracles now?â€
She ignored the question and told him what she had been bottling up for sometime now “Miracle is regarded as an unusual event; something that is perceived as extraordinary. It is a perception not necessarily a reality. A plane before the Wright brothers created one could be regarded as a miracle, having babies could be regarded as a miracle but with the advent of cloning, things are changing, the internet is a miracle. Anything we can not provide a logical answer for, we regard as a miracle but once we provide an answer to the know-how, it is no longer a miracle. So what is unusual to you may not be unusual to me. A man may give testimony of getting a job as a miracle, while the employer of the man may be wondering what the miracle is all about. You see it is all perception, what the employee is calling a miracle is what the employer calls a usual event.
“Hmm†Musa muttered under his breathe and nodded his head
“There is an exact science to what Jesus did, he first showed gratitude to God for what he had by thanking him and then he broke the bread and divided it amongst the people and note that it was for the people not for himself, thus he was able to feed all of them.†Lara submitted.
“I don’t still understand. Are you saying, I have to thank God for what I have then divide the measly 80k, I earn amongst my family, then I would be able to feed them.†Musa asked.
“First of all calling 80k, measly money is not gratitude.†Said Lara
“It’s easy for you to say, you earn 500k a month†Said Musa
“Yes, it’s easy for me to say because I started with 5k a month and I grew it to 500k, very soon, I would be commanding a million a month but you know what I am digressing from the issue at hand, Let me use something else to explain it to you.†Lara quickly said.
He was shocked at the statement and wondered what Lara was going to come up with this time. Lara continued “there are two things that please God – faith and conversion of a lost soul.†He cut Lara short immediately and asked her “are u saying I don’t have faith? Look lady; try another line to pacify me because I have faith, huge faith for that matter. I pray 2 hours a day, read my bible everyday (I have almost finished the bible for your information), I praise God almost every time, confess positive things into my life, I pay my tithe and offering judiciously, I preach sometimes when I have the time and I don’t miss church. Please, don’t tell me I don’t have faith because I have it and don’t tell me I don’t have patience because I have truly been patient.â€
There was a moment of silence after his speech and he felt very uncomfortable with the silence but felt good after the outburst. Lara looked at him and smiled. He reminded her of the rich young ruler and she was very happy that he could be real with himself because that was the foundation to repentance. She said “there are two kinds of faith; your faith and the faith of God. Most times we operate on our faith level without operating on God’s level of faith, the two of them go hand in hand for change to occur†She saw the curiosity in his face and continued “ When you come to God with your faith, you have to obtain God’s faith in order to resolve your issue. God’s faith is simply what he tells you concerning the issue you have in mind so this takes us to another level of hearing from God which is the foundation of many frustrations experienced by Christians.†This time Musa was wrapped in attention and he could feel the confirmation of what she was saying in his heart.
“God is always speaking but because we are not tuned to the frequency he is speaking with we seldom hear him. Most times in order to hear him; we have to upgrade our internal operating system for the software that picks God, at the level of the issue we are facing, to run. The software, that picks God at the level of your issue, can not run because your OS is outdated that’s why God uses people like me to tell you thisâ€. Musa was fascinated by this revelation that he immediately asked “How can I upgrade my system to accommodate that software?†She smiled “that’s what you are doing now; by being true to yourself and seeking the truth. When this is achieved the seal would be opened and you would be able to access God on a different level, that’s why God says that if you call on him, He would show you great and mighty things that you know not.â€
He immediately understood what she was saying. There was a “know†that he himself could not understand. He quizzed “Is that why when Moses knew he was an Israelite, he tried to operate on his belief but failed but when he obtained God’s faith years later, he passed; is that why when Joseph was in prison and tried to get out by telling the butler to remember him to the King, until it was time for God to grant him the faith, it did not work out, so the essence of prayer is to have God communicate his faith to you concerning that issue and when you obtain the faith you know it is going to work out. Wow, thanx men, I am so glad, it looks as if a chain has been broken of my feet. Lara concurred “yep and when God has told you, it’s your duty to follow it through.â€
“I feel lighter and better; it’s as if a burden has been lifted off me.†Lara checked her time and immediately stood. Musa could not help perceiving the Ise mayaki perfume oozing out of Lara’s body as she gave him a hug. He escorted her to her car and he went back to the fast food joint meditating on what he had just heard…………
EXCERPT FROM MYÂ UPCOMING Â NOVEL – MEMOIRS OF A VIRGIN
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8 comments
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November 24, 2006 at 11:01 am (UTC 1)
Hi Dipo,
that was a wonderful article i just read. It answers questions which most christans have about thier daily lives. As a human being and a christain, I have come to realize that here are two kinds of faith. Often, Christains generally rely on their own faith more than God’s faith. This brings me to the issue of paying tithes and offerings in church. Most Christains are like Musa. They feel that they can only pay their tithes when they are earning megabucks. But they end up procastinating and not paying cos they always have one excuse or the other for not paying. I know cos I used to be like that until I realized that it’s a curse not to pay and pay from my heart, not grudgingly. Now I am reaping the benefits greatly, so much that i wish i could rewind time and pay those ones that i defaulted in. I think everyone should learn from my experience and pay their tithes and offering without complaining about the financial responsibilities they have to fulfill. Then like Lara, we’ll all be earning megabucks.
November 24, 2006 at 3:03 pm (UTC 1)
The problem with an average Nigerian is that he is too religious and of course yo know religion is itself dogmatic. we tend to live our lives on the precepts of religion and this has increasingly continued to affects the youths’ inclination to critical thinking. Everybody is saying God’s time is the best. We have to wake up to the reality of life and stop living on illusions.
November 25, 2006 at 9:07 pm (UTC 1)
If we apply what true religion says not just hearers of the word of God ….then yes! things will change in our lives.
Religion and relationship with God are not the same as I would hope you know…So to blame “religion” I dont agree.
Cos in God through Christ there is excellence, purpose and hope.
When ppl say God’s time without actually giving God somthing in there life to work with you get nothing.
So please I beg to deffer…In God through Christ anything is possible.ppl should just start to learn to apply all what they hear on a sunday morining.
Stay blessed all.
Stay blessed all.
November 26, 2006 at 11:54 am (UTC 1)
@ Angela
Are you sure you read the article?
November 26, 2006 at 6:11 pm (UTC 1)
I read It….I have no comment about it.
was commenting to what Micheal said.
November 27, 2006 at 7:01 am (UTC 1)
Wow, I am sorry since I did not see @ Michael……
January 4, 2007 at 2:22 am (UTC 1)
Dipo please can we have our chat re-instated, please this is a disregard for freedom of the press, information, speech, and association. I want to beleive you are a well educated, democratic, fair, and charismatic nigerian that believes in the ideals of fundamental freedoms and conscience nurtured by truth!
Even if its in the format of nigeria 2007 elections or something to that effect. J, are you there or Gbenro? Micheal i see you are here and you are my witness because these are dictatorial tendencies!
September 26, 2008 at 10:25 am (UTC 1)
And some critique too