Years ago in the middle of the greatest obstacle that faced me , discouraged and helpless , I fixed my eyes on the bible searching for strength, resolve, anything that would lift the heaviness away. I was reading the gospel of John and I came upon chapter 8 :55 and Jesus was speaking to the religious leaders of his day. he said ‘Though you do not know him, I know him ( God ) If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you…’ I leapt off the sofa and said God , how can I say that I know you . Not that am a Christian , not that I am born again but that I know you and I began to pray. It wasn’t more than ten seconds and this thought hit me like I could almost hear it with my ear and it said ; IF YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU, THEN YOU KNOW ME

Faith is like an inexhaustible deposit from God given to be spent daily .The more you spend it the higher you go.

Imagine if humanity dominated one another with love, if the first act in a disagreement is patience, if kindness is second nature, if peace is the right hand , if humility is worn as a garb. Imagine just imagine if we gave everybody the benefit of the doubt .Imagine …

Growing up in south eastern Nigeria , one major western phrase was the staple of our adolescence : Love is blind. A poor man can marry a rich woman. An older woman can marry a young man, a priest can disavow his oath for love .At the age where interest in the opposite gender was skyrocketing with each passing day, we loved that phrase. It gave us hope that we could strike luck with some girl.

At the same time, a different view of love dominated the indigenous language and culture. It is called IHUNANYA , which literally means TO SEE. Among the Igbo tribe of south east Nigeria, to love is to see. To see the failings , faults , mess of another and still be kind to them , care for them , accept them , cherish them.

The western culture came with love that is blind , the indigenous culture had the love that sees but both the one that is blind and the one that sees share the same principles. Are we really all that different from one another?