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Jesus loves you, not me
by Ayobola Chike-Michael Michael and Christie were a young Christian couple who loved the Lord in their own peculiar ways. Michael was quite traditional in his ways while Christie was Pentecostal. Despite their differences, God captured their hearts for the same cause in different ways. This is the story of how God caught their attention and helped them start their Trans-Atlantic ministry of feeding and clothing the less privileged. Christie joined the feeding the homeless department in their church after an experience she had in the year 2000 when out of boredom and curiosity, she followed a friend for a 'kitchen-run' programme. She was gobsmacked at how many homeless people lived in central London, it was a cold winter night and they had loaded the van with 100 packs of hot chicken soup and vegetable soup, it was such an unforgettable experience. Christie found fulfillment in handing out the food. It was also a good ground to preach the gospel, no matter how brief the opportunity. Since then, every winter, particularly at Christmas, she went with church brethren to distribute food and sing a few carols to homeless people in the city centre. They usually gave food but on one occasion, a particular brother said he was led to bring shoes along. Christie mentioned this to Michael who had a parade of shoes in his closet. Michael gladly fished out old shoes although still in good conditions. As a last minute decision, he dropped his size 8 occasion shoe. 'Are you sure about those', called out Christie, 'they are one of your favourites'. Michael felt a tug at his heart and was certain he was to drop his precious Italian shoe, he heeded and dropped the shoe in the bag for the homeless. So in addition to hot jollof rice and sandwiches, they had a bag of shoes for men and women. As they gave out the food, they took the opportunity to drop a word or two about God's love. Most of the recipients were interested in the food, blankets and shoes. The church people could say anything they wanted but survival was most crucial to them. Christie was drawn to a particular guy; he was blonde and had a different accent. Apparently he was an accountant in Germany before he became homeless. His shoes were worn out and when he finally yanked them off in exchange for the used ones we brought, you could see the dark blue tarmac through the big hole in one of the shoes. He was very alert when they started calling out the sizes, he yelled out 'any size eight or nine'?, and then there was a chilling cry after; 'please, please..., any shoe for me'? Christie looked quickly but found none, so she said 'none sorry'. The homeless man snatched the packed hot food from Christie and walked away disappointed. Christie continued giving food to the others until she heard that familiar accent again, pleading 'please check, please look again...' Christie suddenly remembered the not-so-old shoes her husband had dropped in the bag. She switched the torch on to have a better view of the van. The shoes had fallen out of the bag and laid on the van floor quietly. She grabbed them up quickly and dangled it in front of the pleading man. He snatched the shoes, panting hard with the winter smoke puffing out of his mouth. There was no thank you or anything. He walked away quickly. Christie called out 'you see, Jesus loves you', suddenly the homeless man clutching the food and shoes turned back. He shouted 'Jesus loves you not me!' Christie was shocked, She tried to tell him why or show him, he continued saying 'Jesus obviously loves you, you have a warm home to go to, I don't know where I will sleep, you have many shoes and I have none, you have a family but mine pushed me out to a strange country, you probably have a job, I'm an accountant but can't even feed myself', he went on giving reasons why Christie was Jesus' favourite. Christie was at a loss of what to say, she looked up and shouted 'well, Jesus loves you enough to keep a pair of nice size 8 shoes for you, and gave hot food too, he stopped in his tracks and thoughtfully replied, 'maybe', he smiled and then walked away. Christie was quite shaken by this experience and she determined to continue serving God by giving to those who cannot some back to say thanks. She just wanted them to know Jesus. Michael on the other hand had his unforgettable experience when he traveled to Nigeria three years later. He was traveling by car to the Eastern part of Nigeria when the public transport car developed a fault very close to Benin. They parked in an industrial estate. There were many road side auto mechanics and it was a perfect place to fix the car and for passengers to stretch their legs and probably buy some food. Michael looks around for a canteen to eat. The sweet aroma of food filled the atmosphere and he traced the yummy tang to a small erection of rusted iron sheets. He peered inside the dark and smoky shed and many pairs of eyes blinked back at him. He felt slightly uneasy but went ahead to place an order. As he sat occupying the little space left on the bench, he felt a pair of piercing eyes focused on him. It was a boy around the age of his own son staring hard at him hungrily. Barely nine years, he was scantily dressed and laid under an old car that provided enough shade from the scotching sun. Michael wondered what a boy his age was doing under a car at 2pm on a school day. Their eyes locked and Michael beckoned to him. The boy was scared and he crept out and walked slowly towards Michael, eyes darting like a rabbit's. Michael asked why he wasn't at school. The boy said it was his dad who asked him to be an apprentice at the mechanic's workshop. His mouth was dry and as he responded to Michael's questions, he stopped to swallow the saliva that built ever so quickly as he savoured the aroma of all manner of meals simmering away on the big stoves. Michael asked if he had had lunch, he shook his head, he soon found out he hadn't eaten all day. He shook his head in disbelief. What manner of parents will leave a nine year old to fend for himself like this? Michael asked 'boy, what's your name'? 'Mustafa' he replied. Michael asked him what he would like to eat. Mustafa's eyes glowed with disbelief. He immediately said 'rice'! Michael asked for a sizeable portion of rice, beans and stewed vegetable to be served the hungry boy. He asked Mustafa if he wanted meat or fish but he humbly asked for 'ishan', a cow's ligament. That was way cheaper than chunks of meat or fish and he could chew the goodness of the stewed tendon all day. Mustafa gobbled up the food in no time. Michael watched him with tears welling up in his own eyes. Mustafa bowed to the ground in thankfulness. 'Thank you sir, God bless you sir'. He then ran off. Awestruck onlookers thanked Michael on his behalf. Michael spent the rest of his journey thinking about how old clothes most times end up in the garbage bins or at most in a recycle box in England. Mustafa could well fit into some of his son's old clothes. He could afford to pay a few pounds a month to secure a fairly good education for Mustafa. Immediately, he called Christie and relayed the extraordinary experience to her. She was well prepared for this. She had had her extraordinary experience a few years back and she encouraged him with Proverbs 19:17, anyone who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord. She set the ball rolling by contacting families in their church for old clothes, toys and money for food and school fees. The response was enormous and soon, they needed a warehouse to store fairly used clothes and toys. This was the start of a huge ministry feeding and clothing the homeless around the world. Christie and Michael's aim was simple, to change 'Jesus loves you, not me', to Jesus loves me too. This short article was written by Ayobola Chike-Michael. Please feel free to share or print however kindly acknowledge the author. thanks Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |