Do we really care?
"I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me" Mathew 25:36 NIV
Tomorrow, we all will be celebrating children across Nigeria. From large scale to low key; celebrations will flood the air. Is this wrong? Absolutely not! We are all entitled to. I will be doing the same for children in my church tomorrow.
But can I remind you that as we speak now, a 15 year old girl will not have the luxury of a good meal, warmth of her mother's arms or joy of being around other girls her age who also love Jesus the way she does. It's been over 90 days that Leah Sharibu has been a hostage with Boko Haram. Alone she stands just because she won't renounce Jesus! What a true child of Yeshua
Sadly though, in a country where the VP is a Christian, as at when I checked last; a reporter did an extensive video with Leah's mother and she confirmed that, no one from this government had visited her. The Christian leadership in Nigeria have not visited her either.
While it seems cool for our VP to be traveling on "campaign like" tours around Nigeria at the moment in an attempt to curry votes for his principal in 2019, I wish he will remember that Leah needs more than prayers now. I wish he will celebrate her tomorrow as we celebrate other children. I pray he will remember that despite the "phony stories" of how "good" this government has been that he is currently selling across Nigeria, Leah's continues incarceration is a painful reminder of all that Nigerians have suffered (both Christian and Muslim) for their faith!
Praying is good brethren! But Jesus said we must do more than pray! We give clothes, we look after the sick and we visit those who are in prison!
Do we really care?
When it comes to issues like tithing, the entire Christian community "explodes" and suddenly becomes vocal. But sadly, issues like a girl who we don't even know if she has become a martyr is only good for prayer meetings. "We are not to talk lest we offend anyone". Well...
I pray the Christian community in Nigeria rises from the mundane and begins to do that which the Lord really demands.
We will pray for Leah Sharibu but we must also do as the Lord will expect! I encourage us all to take small times in all our Christian celebrations tomorrow to pray for and honour Leah. Those of us who live in close proximity to her mother should try and visit and show that all of the children of Yeshua stand with Leah at this time!
May God bless Nigeria!