Sunday, August 06, 2023

In my culture, a tribe in the southwestern part of Nigeria, West Africa, there is an adage that says: “What a bird eats is what the bird flies with.” Some birds came to eat from a ripe papaya fruit on a tree in my compound, and they were so filled up that as they flew back, their droppings landed on some objects, unfortunately including the windshield and rooftop of my car. The droppings were literally the papaya they ate — the exact color and almost undigested! Now, humor me for a moment. These birds could not have excreted wheat or rice or maize because that wasn’t what they ate. They ate ripe, orange-colored papaya! What went into them was what came out. As believers, we are reminded that it is from the abundance of what we store up within us that we speak. When we store up on the Word of God, at every slightest pressure or opportunity, it is very likely that the Word is what we speak or act or demonstrate, as the case may be. We must therefore desire to be filled with the Word of God, not just the news and information flying around us.

I have learned to mobilize, raise, and train more mission-minded believers (especially the Next Generation) who are passionately focused on eradicating Gospel poverty.