THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN JESUS
A few days ago I came across the verse of scripture below which made me raise my brows. I read the verse again and reflected on the words. They are the words of Jesus Christ.
"...And the time will come when anyone who kills you will think that by doing this he is serving God. People will do these things to you because they have not known either the Father or me." (John 16.2,3 GNB).
The question that came straight to my mind was, 'Whose fault is that then?' Quickly I answered myself, 'Largely ours as followers of Christ.' Then I sat back and pondered on my own question and answer. Isn't this exactly the situation in our nation now? The media, both the social and the formal, is replete with stories of man's inhumanity to man, foreigners to indigenes, one religion to another, tribe to other tribe. Those inflicting mayhem on their fellow countrymen are mostly the unevangelized apart from the criminal in heart. These peoples have not known Jesus. Like Saul of Tarsus in the bible who was sent to destroy early Christians and did so vehemently until Jesus showed up in his life and circumcized his heart, these killers needed to have known Jesus who sent us to win their souls. But we sat back and failed to preach Christ in the nooks and crannies of our country until these misguided infidels of doubtful nationality ran amock and embarked on their kidnap for money, rape and kill rampage in the land.
The story is told of a woman and her spoilt son. As a little boy the son brought home small items belonging to other children from school but the mother felt he was just smarter than his mates so she did not correct him. The 'smart' boy left school and continued out-smarting people at work taking a lot of money home, still the mother kept mute. He left home and upgraded his life of crime to robbery and high fraud, with time becoming a king-pin. One day he led his gang in a highly brutish bank robbery in which people were killed. He was caught and sentenced to death by firing squad. On the morning of his execution day he sent for his mother and she came to his cell. He drew her close pretending he was going to kiss her but fiercely bit off her ear saying to those around that it was this woman who was responsible for his death because she failed to correct her from going astray when it was in her power to do so.
I don't know how much missionary work has been done among the unreached in our country and other West African nation's, neither am I aware of any resistance in past efforts to take Christ to them, but I know a brother whose mission post is Mali. He came to our church just over a year ago with his Malian wife soliciting for mission support. He related how much effort was still needed to evangelize the sub-Saharan region where nomads and other races are predominant and the pressing need to have more hands on the job. I don't know how much support they got from the church but I recall the fervency in his plea for help. No doubt such will be the mission situation in our remotest villages and hamlets in the deepest forests and farthest enclaves of our country where these unreached people dwell and wreck havoc. So would one not be correct to say the present imbroglio we are witnessing in our nation is largely the consequence of our inadequacy in our call to evangelize as followers of Christ? Remember the Master's command to us is to go into all the nation's and make disciples of all men...teaching them the things that Jesus had taught us. Would those presently afflicting us with kidnapping, banditry, rape and death been so beastly if we had shown them our Jesus and taught them His ways? Perhaps not.
olusegunisaac2018@gmail.com
"...And the time will come when anyone who kills you will think that by doing this he is serving God. People will do these things to you because they have not known either the Father or me." (John 16.2,3 GNB).
The question that came straight to my mind was, 'Whose fault is that then?' Quickly I answered myself, 'Largely ours as followers of Christ.' Then I sat back and pondered on my own question and answer. Isn't this exactly the situation in our nation now? The media, both the social and the formal, is replete with stories of man's inhumanity to man, foreigners to indigenes, one religion to another, tribe to other tribe. Those inflicting mayhem on their fellow countrymen are mostly the unevangelized apart from the criminal in heart. These peoples have not known Jesus. Like Saul of Tarsus in the bible who was sent to destroy early Christians and did so vehemently until Jesus showed up in his life and circumcized his heart, these killers needed to have known Jesus who sent us to win their souls. But we sat back and failed to preach Christ in the nooks and crannies of our country until these misguided infidels of doubtful nationality ran amock and embarked on their kidnap for money, rape and kill rampage in the land.
The story is told of a woman and her spoilt son. As a little boy the son brought home small items belonging to other children from school but the mother felt he was just smarter than his mates so she did not correct him. The 'smart' boy left school and continued out-smarting people at work taking a lot of money home, still the mother kept mute. He left home and upgraded his life of crime to robbery and high fraud, with time becoming a king-pin. One day he led his gang in a highly brutish bank robbery in which people were killed. He was caught and sentenced to death by firing squad. On the morning of his execution day he sent for his mother and she came to his cell. He drew her close pretending he was going to kiss her but fiercely bit off her ear saying to those around that it was this woman who was responsible for his death because she failed to correct her from going astray when it was in her power to do so.
I don't know how much missionary work has been done among the unreached in our country and other West African nation's, neither am I aware of any resistance in past efforts to take Christ to them, but I know a brother whose mission post is Mali. He came to our church just over a year ago with his Malian wife soliciting for mission support. He related how much effort was still needed to evangelize the sub-Saharan region where nomads and other races are predominant and the pressing need to have more hands on the job. I don't know how much support they got from the church but I recall the fervency in his plea for help. No doubt such will be the mission situation in our remotest villages and hamlets in the deepest forests and farthest enclaves of our country where these unreached people dwell and wreck havoc. So would one not be correct to say the present imbroglio we are witnessing in our nation is largely the consequence of our inadequacy in our call to evangelize as followers of Christ? Remember the Master's command to us is to go into all the nation's and make disciples of all men...teaching them the things that Jesus had taught us. Would those presently afflicting us with kidnapping, banditry, rape and death been so beastly if we had shown them our Jesus and taught them His ways? Perhaps not.
olusegunisaac2018@gmail.com
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