By Tochukwu Ezukanma
\nA friend of mine employed a Hausa\/Fulani security guard. With time, a
\nnumber of other Hausa\/Fulani came to live with his security guard.
\nUltimately, there were about five of them sharing his single room with
\nhim. In the same way, the individual abodes of the other security men in
\nthe area attracted a considerable number of Hausa\/Fulani into the
\nneighborhood. One day, one of them was high on something (alcohol or
\ndrug). He rode his Okada crazily through the neighborhood, and struck a
\nmoving car; he died instantly. People, many of them Hausa\/Fulani,
\ngathered. They spoke Hausa, as they discussed the accident,
\ngesticulating and pacing the street.<\/p>\n
The motorist, who did not understand Hausa, was very frightened. With
\nthe stereotype that makes many of us think that every Hausa\/Fulani is a
\nBoko Haram, armed bandit or Fulani herdsman, that is, a murderous
\nfanatic, the man must have thought that his life expectancy will be
\nmeasured in minutes. Finally, this seemingly murderous posse of
\nHausa\/Fulani told him: Oga, we don look de matter finish. No be you de
\nat fault. Na our broda dey at fault. Make you carry your moto dey go. We
\ngo contribute money go bury am.<\/p>\n
Overwhelmed by that unparalleled, unbridled uprightness, the man fell on
\nthe ground and started crying. That unthinkable, unselfish, untainted
\nhonesty was uncannily Christian, for it was in total conformity with the
\nteachings of Christianity. Interestingly, it was the candor of Moslems
\nthat accorded perfectly with the teachings of Jesus Christ. What is a
\nMoslem whose conduct is purely Christ-like? Of course, he is a
\nChristian. After all, the early Christians were called Christians, not
\nbecause of their religion, but because of their behavior.<\/p>\n
It is important to note that Jesus Christ did not establish a religion.
\nHe taught the Truth. His teachings transcend religion, race and
\nnationality. Not surprisingly, votaries of different religions revere
\nthe teachings of Jesus Christ. The Jews do not consider Jesus the
\nMessiah or Son of God, but acknowledge and respect the sublimity of His
\nteachings, for example, the Sermon on the Mount. Mahatma Gandhi, a
\nHindu, borrowed extensively from the teachings of Jesus Christ in
\nfashioning his philosophy of Satyagraha. The founder of Islam, Mohammed,
\nheld Jesus Christ in very high esteem. Many theologians \u2013 Hindu,
\nMoslem and other religions of the world – have written glowingly about
\nthe Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was St Paul that starting turning the
\nTruth of Jesus Christ into a religion.<\/p>\n
According to the Bible, \u201cwhen Jesus was come into his own country\u201d,
\nhe wanted to give sight to the blind, get the lame to walk, raise the
\ndead, etc. But \u201cHe did not do many mighty works there because of their
\nunbelief.\u201d So, it is possible for Jesus to want to heal, and for the
\nhealing not to take place because the conditions for healing were not
\nmet. At the other extreme, as the woman with the issue of blood came to
\nJesus, He did not notice her for she came to touch His garment by
\nstealth. Although Jesus did not notice her, knew nothing about her needs
\nand did not permit her touching Him, the miracle still took place. The
\nmiracle had taken place – \u201cvirtue had gone out of Him\u201d – before
\nJesus found out, and asked \u201cWho touched my clothes?\u201d Virtue went out
\nof Him without his permission. Jesus operated a principle that he had no
\ncontrol of.<\/p>\n
In the first instance, he wanted to, but could not because the
\nconditions for the principle were not met. The people lacked the
\nenabling mindset for a miracle: faith. In the second case, because of
\nthe woman\u2019s faith, the conditions were met and the principles of
\nhealing took effect, even without His approval. The two illustrations
\nare very important in understanding the teachings of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
God operates by His principle, which is indifferent to race, tribe,
\nstatus, religion etc. It was a point Jesus made clear to the Jews, who,
\nas descendants of Abraham, prided themselves for their special
\nrelationship with God because of God\u2019s covenant with Abraham. Jesus
\ntold them that it is not about ancestry and patrimony, but doing the
\nwill of God. And as such, \u201cMany shall come from the east and west, and
\nshall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
\nBut the children of (Abraham) shall be cast out into outer
\ndarkness\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Again, in Mark 4: 32, Jesus answered, \u201cFor whosoever
\nshall do the will of God, the same is my brother and my sister and
\nmother\u201d.<\/p>\n
It is not about heritage as the Jew thought, or social relationship and
\nreligious labels (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc), as many
\nChristians believe, but doing the will of God. Like the Jews, in the
\ndays of Jesus, prided themselves on their heritage and patrimony but
\nignored doing the will of God, Nigerian Christians trumpet their being
\nborn again Christians filled with the Holy Spirit, but refrain from
\ndoing the will of God. We dwell on the label \u201cChristian\u201d but refuse
\nto be Christ-like. Not surprisingly, the excessive Christianity of the
\nNigerian society has benefited us very little. It is our thoughts, words
\nand conduct that make us Christians, not the religious label we wear.<\/p>\n
Jesus succinctly summed up the will of God, which is essentially the
\nlaws of Jesus Christ: \u201cLove \u2026God with all thy heart, and with all
\nthy soul, and with all thy mind. And \u2026 love thy neighbor as
\nthyself.\u201d And, \u201cThere is none other commandment greater than
\nthese.\u201d If you love your neighbor as yourself, you will not wish him
\nevil, harm him, steal from him, bear false witness against him, murder
\nhim, seduce his wife, etc. So, in obeying the laws of Jesus Christ, your
\nthoughts, utterances and conduct will be transcendental, placing you
\nabove the laws of Moses, and all the laws of all the other religions of
\nthe world.<\/p>\n
And, irrespective of your religion, you will inescapably become, in your
\nown sphere, \u201cthe light of the world\u201d. And your light will \u201cso
\nshine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your
\nFather which is in heaven\u201d. Which is what Jesus Christ demands of all
\nhis followers (the true Christians), irrespective of the religious label
\nthey wear.<\/p>\n
Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria.<\/p>\n