Still on the ‘change’ discussion, I want to touch on the subject of love for our fellow human beings. We must love one another as Christ loves the Church.
Have you socialised with an ‘area boy’ (street urchin) instead of being distant from him? Have you spoken to him to find out how things have turned out that way for him? You might be an agent of change and transformation for him. When last did you visit someone in prison? When last did you go to the hospital to see someone? When last did you go out of your way to make sure people in your hometown are well? You must go back to your hometown and begin to empower the people and bring them up.
Love is the fulfilment of the law.
I want to tell you a story of a father’s extraordinary love for his sons. This very distinguished Nigerian sent his two sons to New York to get education. But the lads got into drugs and were repatriated to Nigeria.
Back in Nigeria, they were still hooked on drugs and lived aimless and restless street life in Lagos.
I met them when I was a pastor in Freedom Hall. They followed me to City of David and from there to Christ Church.
Next to their dad, I was like a guardian and mentor to them. I put one of them in rehab programme; but after three or four months, he went back to his addiction. These were handsome lads in their youthful days and from distinguished background.
Now, these two men, then 47 and 42 years old still go home on a regular basis and their 84-year-old father would cook for them, wash their clothes and give them welfare allowance, known as ‘pocket money’ in local parlance. Even then, they would steal his money. He fell and broke his legs on one occasion while chasing his son who had taken his money.
One very early Sunday morning, I heard a knock at my door, and it was this old man, limping.
“Baba, what are you looking for, is everything okay?” I asked.
“I am looking for my sons. I haven’t seen them for weeks. They have not come for their pocket money. They did not come home to eat,” he lamented.
“How can you be looking for these sons, Baba? Why? They should be looking for you instead!”
“Pastor, what else can I do?”
“Just go home and rest, Baba.”
“They are my sons; I love them,” were the words that dropped from his heart.
The power behind those words caught me. I stood there and wondered, what love.
We must not love others simply because of what we might get from them, or because they will reciprocate the love or we are in good terms with them. Love for another man must be unconditional.
It must be the kind of love that Paul speaks about in 1 Corinthians 13 – it does not seek its own good, it is not easily provoked, it does not think evil and it bears and endures all things.