CWRC Anthology

AN OPEN SPECTACLE

©2023 by Praise Abraham

Brought to you by Christian Writers and Readers Club

Ebenezer had always cherished competence.
As a Masters's degree holder in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lagos, he knew his way around machines like no one else. He worked for Klide Motor Venture Inc., the top car manufacturer and international trade company in Nigeria, for five years and earned big money.

However, the moment he gave his life to Christ genuinely, he began to face severe persecution in his workplace. His colleagues began to see him as a fanatic and ostracised him. Because he was privy to the fraudulent activities of the top stakeholders of the company when handling government contracts, he became uncomfortable with his workplace settings. Under severe conviction from the Holy Spirit, he exposed their schemes to the media. However, it backfired because the media tagged him as a whistleblower and he was sacked.

As a single father of his only daughter, Mercy, it became quite difficult to live the life of affluence they were used to. Lizzy, the woman he had loved and impregnated out of wedlock when he was still in the world, died during childbirth, thus he was saddled with the responsibility to cater for his daughter all alone.

He began to work as a freelance mechanic but business was really slow and his few customers neither paid quickly nor enough, if they ever did.

Soon, his landlord pushed him out of the face-me-I-face-you apartment that he rented after his company retracted their benefits which included a big house and a car. All he could proudly call his possessions were the motorcycle he used his savings to buy to serve as an additional source of income and his daughter.

He had to go camp in the house of Baba Oluwagbemi, his spiritual father and disciples, in the meantime.

"Baba," he asked Baba Oluwagbemi one evening as they sat on the steps of his house.
Mercy was playing tag with some butterflies in the compound. "Why does it seem as if the world is against me? I'm getting fed up with all the things happening to me. Why is it so hard for people to see the truth?"

Baba Olugbemi, who had been quietly reading his Bible before Ebenezer abruptly voiced his thoughts, was momentarily startled.

He looked at Ebenezer thoughtfully and said, "My son, God didn't promise us a smooth ride the moment we gave our lives to him. Many people erroneously come into the Kingdom thinking God is like an ATM to fulfill their every whim. But that isn't so.

"Look at my wife and me. Though we've been serving God faithfully for years, we haven't gotten a physical fruit of the womb and it's been almost fifteen years since we married. But that hasn't stopped us from trusting God.

"Jesus told us to expect persecution. He said, 'Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you for my sake.' He also said, 'Be of good cheer I have overcome the world. Ebenezer, If you do not faint in due season, you will receive your reward. Do not ever be ashamed of the truth. That is the power of God."

"Hmmm... Thank you, Baba. Though it's not easy, your words have encouraged me. I'll just keep trusting God."

"That's the spirit, son. God will amaze you only if you follow him wholeheartedly."

Just then, Ebenezer's make-shift 'Chinko' phone rang. It was an unknown number.

"Baba, please excuse me for a minute."

Baba Oluwagbemi gestured for him to go ahead.

He stood up and strolled a little distance as he picked up the call.
"Hello!"

"Hello! Please am I on to Mr. Ebenezer Mosunmola?" a female voice asked with a slight British accent.

"Yes, this is him. Who am I speaking with?"