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Whose Father is He?

```A beggar came asking for food. I told him to come around to the back door and asked him to sit on the floor while I went in to bring the left over food.

I brought him food & said, let's pray. Now repeat after me, "Our Father in heaven". He said, "Your Father in heaven". I said."No, say OUR Father in Heaven". He again said, "Your Father in Heaven"!!!

This extremely Irritated me! I asked why do you say 'Your' father when I say 'Our' Father?'

He said, "Sir, it's like this. If I say Our Father, then we both become brothers. If we are brothers, you would invite me from the front door and not from the back; you would ask me to sit on your dining table not on the floor; you'd also not give me stale food! Sir, somehow it's not possible that we are sons of the same father"!

He may be your Father, but he can't be OUR father!

Whose Father is He?

It took a beggar to teach me the truth!!!```

God becomes our father if we do good to one another.

#As shared via WhatsApp

Good evening all.. Hope you're having a great week.

More stories coming up with time by God's grace. The stories are ready but I have not been able to rewrite or elongate them into scripts/literature form (quite busy, but I believe I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me)...

I'm beckoning on other Christian/Gospel story writers to share their stories too.

God bless you as you do so
God bless the writers and the readers

(NEVER AGAIN Part Two) Continues...

The relationship between Rose and Mrs. Odili became even worse but there was really nothing Mrs. Odili could do to stop Rose from leaving the house at this point. If she had her way, she would have talked the church out of sponsoring her education but she wouldn’t do that because she still has an image to protect and she wouldn’t want her cover to be blown out yet. Mrs. Odili wished her husband was still alive because he is the one who sure knows how to do her bidding and she believes he wouldn’t have accepted the offer from the church concerning Rose’ education. Too bad she lost her husband in an auto crash which claimed only his life leaving others in the same vehicle with little or no injury at all. He was traveling to a nearby state in the company of some other members of their church to attend an annual conference there. His death came as a shock to his wife and others seeing that the vehicle conveying them wasn’t so wrecked, and out of ten people in the vehicle, only Kay died. Four people including the driver only sustained minor injuries while the other five came out unscathed. It was indeed a shocking news.

It wasn’t long before Rose wrote the next UTME, and to the surprise of the church, she came out with flying colours. She gained admission into one of the prestigious universities where she is studying Law. Rose chose to study Law because she wants to be a voice to as many voiceless individuals being maltreated by their supposed caregivers.

Rose learnt that just in her first year in the university, Mrs. Odili brought a young girl into her house to work as a maid. She also maltreated her but, unlike Rose, this new maid didn’t hesitate to inform the church of all the evil meted on her by Mrs. Odili. Investigations were carried out and Mrs. Odili was found guilty of all the accusations leveled against her by the new maid. They even found out that Rose suffered the same fate in the hands of the Odilis. People saw Mrs. Odili for who she truly is and many taunted her for being a pretender all along. The shame was indeed too much on her. Though Mrs. Odili committed a crime worthy of punishment, the church didn’t excommunicate her, neither did they stop rendering help to her. The church rather encouraged her to amend her ways and go back to Christ. They urged her to seek the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness, and also the forgiveness of all she and her late husband have offended especially Rose. She agreed and did all these, the Lord being merciful upon her.

The church prayed for her and continued rendering assistance to her and her family. Rose truly forgave her and both of them have been in good terms ever since.

THE END.

(NEVER AGAIN Part Two) Continues...

After she told Mrs. Odili of her intention to go back to her village the following day, she went into her room, put her luggage together and laid on the bed, eyes closed, waiting for the day to quickly break. ‘Where will I go? I don’t even know the way to my village, and even if I knew the way, how do I get money for the transport fare? I don’t even have a single penny on me’, Rose recollects. ‘But that notwithstanding, I have to leave here first thing tomorrow morning. I can’t spend another night with these monsters anymore. I mustn’t die of ill treatment before I know I have overstayed my welcome here. I just have to leave this house and go anywhere’.

As she kept on pondering on where to go, she slept off. She woke up the next day at about 6:35a.m and without having her bath or even brushing her teeth, she got up from bed, took her luggage and went out of her room. When she got downstairs to the exit door, she noticed it was locked as usual. She went to the dining table where all keys are normally kept but noticed that that particular door’s key was missing. The keys to the main gate, the car keys and some other house keys were all on the table except for the entrance/exit door’s key. Rose thought her eyes must be deceiving her so she took out time to observe the keys one after the other but couldn’t find it. She again thought she was mistaken so she took all the keys and went to the exit/entrance door, trying each key on the door, but to no avail. After a long trial, it dawned on her that the Odilis must have played a fast one with the key. That was how Rose was locked indoors for some weeks until she lost interest in leaving.

Other times she had tried to leave, the Odilis always have a way to stop her. On some occasions, they will pretend to be very nice to her just to make her stay. The last attempt she made to leave the house was also very unsuccessful. Then she was about sitting for her SSC Examination but the Odilis persuaded her to stay and write the exams. They promised to send her home after her exams but they never did. Now she is seeing this offer and sponsorship by their church as a golden opportunity she has been waiting for so long.

‘I mustn’t miss this chance to leave this house for anything,’ she said to herself while still in bed. ‘I know madam will be very angry at my response back there in the sitting room but I don’t care. Never again will I live with these monsters in sheep clothing. I don’t even wish my enemies to pass through all that I passed through living with them. Bunch of pretenders always covering up their evil acts with church activities’.

...Never Again continues shortly...

(NEVER AGAIN Part Two) Continues...

When Rose heard all that from Mrs. Odili, she became furious and even wanted to bump into their conversation and tell the church officials that all what Mrs. Odili just said are lies, but she held herself and hoped for the best outcome.
‘So what are your plans for Rose?’ asked one of the officials.
‘Eeerm, Rose… I think I will have to… Eeerm…’ she muttered. ‘You see, just leave Rose. I will know what to do about her with time’, she added.

Rose didn’t want to miss this opportunity of going back to school, so she thought of something. She rushed into the kitchen and got a pack of fruit juice with a glass cup. She quickly came and presented it to one of the officials who never asked for it.
‘Haba, Rose, I’m good already. I didn’t ask for fruit juice’.
‘Oh, I thought you did’, Rose said, then she offered it to the others but they politely turned down the offer. As Rose took back the fruit juice and turned to leave, brother Lekan called her back; ‘Rose, can I ask you something?’
Rose turned to him and smiles, motioning him to go ahead.
‘What do you want to do with your life seeing that you have refused to further your education?’ asked Lekan.
Rose was very happy to hear the question and without wasting any time she responded, ‘Me? I want to further my education sir’
Brother Lekan and the other officials were surprised at her response. Then Lekan asked her, ‘But Mummy Kate said you…’
‘She is not serious o’, snapped Mrs. Odili who looked at Rose angrily trying to pass a message to her to leave the room at once.

Rose understood Mrs. Odili’s gesture but she was ready for whatever outcome from her disobedience. She had long hoped for the day she will eventually leave the Odili’s house to her own freedom and this is one good opportunity after many failed attempts. Rose was lenient enough to speak nice of Mrs. Odili in the presence of the church officials. She said to them, ‘I may have refused to further my education, but I think I have now seen the importance of education and I am willing to go back to school’.

The church officials were glad to hear that and smiled to Mrs. Odili who could barely hide her anger.
‘So we will make arrangement on how you will write the next UTME and if truly you are serious with your education, we expect you to pass the UTME and hopefully gain admission into one of your choice universities. We will talk more on that before we live here, okay?’ said brother Lekan.
‘Okay sir’, Rose gladly responds and thanks them all. She happily returns to her room. ‘Finally, I’ll be out of this house; oh my God!’ she said to herself as she rolled around in bed. Then she laid still and thought about her first attempt to leave the house about four years ago after late Pastor Kay burnt her left arm with a hot pressing iron for just a little mistake she made. Her joy immediately turned to sorrow and resentment as she thought about that fateful day.

...Never Again continues shortly...

(NEVER AGAIN Part Two) Continues...

Few days after the burial of Pastor Kennedy Odili, some church officials were sent to Mrs. Odili’s house to inform the family of the plans the church has for them. Mrs. Odili who was still receiving condolence visits received the church emissaries with joy. Indeed they came with good tidings for the Odilis. Mrs. Odili was informed that her wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of her children will be taken full care of by the church. They comforted her and assured her that whatsoever she will need to cater for herself and her children will be provided by the church.

After that, their conversation shifted to Rose, Mrs. Odili’s house help. Rose has been busy serving the guests that came into their house; walking to and fro as she served each visitor that came in. She was glad to see the church officials and as she was serving them with what each wanted, she overheard them talking about her. She paced around to listen to the conversation as this one concerns her.

Brother Lekan, one of the church officials started by saying to Mrs. Odili; ‘We also have some good news for Rose. The church has decided to sponsor her education into the higher institution’.
Mrs. Odili kicked as she heard this. ‘Rose?!’, she asked.
‘Yes, Rose’, brother Lekan responded. ‘Is there a problem ma?’
‘No o’, replied Mrs. Odili. ‘My late husband and I have also tried our best to take her to the higher institution but Rose isn’t taking her studies seriously. In fact, she told us she doesn’t want to continue with her education anymore. We did all we can to make her see the need to further her education but she is adamant about it. I wouldn’t want the church to waste resources on Rose the way my late husband did’.

...Never Again continues shortly...

TITLE: NEVER AGAIN (Part Two)
Written by Amicable24

Back in St. Bartholomew’s church where Pastor Kennedy Odili’s funeral is being held, Reverend Dele Matthew rounded up his sermon with words of encouragement to the bereaved family, friends and relatives of the deceased. He said a prayer over Pastor Kay’s body lying lifeless in the casket and then motioned on the pallbearers to come and take the body to the cemetery for burial. As the pallbearers lifted the casket up, Mrs. Odili suddenly jumped out of her seat and threw herself at the pallbearers weeping profusely and trying to reach the casket, but then, some women rushed to her and held her down, still consoling her. The pallbearers held the casket high and slowly left the church followed by the officiating Reverend, late Pastor Kay’s family, church officials, relatives, friends and others, Rose being among the last set to leave the church. As they left for the cemetery, they sang;

“It is well (repeat)
With my soul (repeat)
It is well, it is well with my soul”

The casket was placed in one of the vehicles while Mrs. Odili, her children and some others entered other vehicles. The remaining followed on foot, seeing that the cemetery is not so far from the church. Rose was one of those who walked to the cemetery accompanied by some church members who consoled her on their way with words like, “Sorry Rose. Pastor Kay was such a good man. We know you really miss him so much just like we do. We pray God Almighty comforts you and bring someone else your way who will be a nice and loving father to you just like our dear Pastor Kay”. Rose pretended to be sad for the deceased but inwardly, she wasn’t and rejected the consoling words from them in her heart. She said to herself that she will rather die than have another master like the late Pastor Kay.

...Never Again continues shortly...

Hello Nairalanders....

Sorry for the long absence... Had a tight schedule.. But thank God I'm back again to continue with the Christian stories.

I implore other Christian story tellers to share their stories here as well.

The continuation of NEVER AGAIN (Part two) in a moment...

Ooops, I've been away for so long.. Apologies .. I've been busy though. May continue "Never Again" by next week.. My hands are tied for now . Please bear with me

(NEVER AGAIN) Continues...

‘How come nobody came to inform me that the food is ready seeing that I am so famished?’ he said as he frowned at Rose.

‘I’m sorry sir; I was about calling you to…’ Before Rose could complete the sentence, Pastor Kay moved closer to her and spanked her on the face. Rose just did obeisance and left the sitting room holding her cheek.

‘Honey, don’t allow this girl disobey my orders in this house’, he told his wife; then he notices her silence and sits right beside her placing his arm on her shoulders, ‘Honey, what is it? Is anything the matter? Talk to me dear’.

‘Rose said she wants to go back to her village’, Mrs. Odili responded

‘Ehen, is she not better off in the village? Is that why you’re bothered?’

‘Kay, she said she wants to go back to her village tomorrow and you are not bothered’, she asked raising her voice a little higher.

‘And why should I be bothered? That’s good riddance to bad rubbish’

‘Did you see the injury you inflicted on her with the pressing iron?’ asked Mrs. Odili.

‘Yes; what about that?’

‘Don’t you know that if she leaves here to the village, she will be asked how she got the wound and also how her stay has been with us here. Then she will tell everyone that the well respected, calm, peace loving Pastor Kay and his wife are responsible for all the scars and also for the emotional trauma she has been passing through. In extension, news will begin to spread fast and everyone who holds us in high esteem in this city will see the real us and know that we have only been pretending to be nice and Godly all along. Aren’t you thinking of all these Kay?

‘Oh my God! You are right dear. I never thought of all that’, responded Pastor Kay. ‘So what do we do?’

‘She can’t leave this house o’, said Mrs. Odili. ‘As a matter of fact, she shouldn’t even be allowed to step out of the compound for now until we know what steps to take concerning her’.

‘Okay honey, I’ll make sure of that. She’s going nowhere and no one has to know about anything going on in this house’, Pastor Kay assured his wife.

Mrs. Odili smiled at her husband whom she believes can handle the situation perfectly well; Then she motions to her husband, ‘The food is getting cold dear, shall we?’ They smile at each other and walk to the dining.

END OF PART ONE

(NEVER AGAIN) Continues...

Rose stood still, crying bitterly, regretting the day she accepted to live with these monsters. She managed to finish up with the cleaning and also arranged dinner. As she set the table, Mrs. Odili was in the sitting room watching T.V while Pastor Kay was in his room.
Rose said inwardly while she set the table, ‘I have to tell her about my decision now that she’s here. I’m leaving this house tomorrow morning. I can’t spend another night here; this must be my last night in this house. Let me quickly tell her before her husband comes out to complicate things’. When she was through, she walked into the sitting room to inform Mrs. Odili.

‘The food is ready ma’, said Rose

‘Okay, have you informed my husband?’

‘I will ma’, Rose responded then walked closer to Mrs. Odili.

‘Rose! Are you okay? I said you should go and inform my husband that the table is set’, Mrs. Odili yelled at her.

‘I will do so ma’, Rose said feeling jittery, ‘I just want to tell you something ma’

‘You want to tell me something?’ Mrs. Odili asked wondering what Rose wanted to tell her. ‘Okay, I’m all ears Rose, what is it?’

‘Eeerm, ma… please ma… I want to… I want to…’

‘Rose, you want to… what? What are you saying’, Mrs. Odili demanded.

‘Ma, please, I want to… to go back home to my people in the village tomorrow ma’.

Mrs. Odili paused for a while, thinking about this request from her house help. She never thought Rose will ever want to return to her poor village. She had often made mockery of Rose’s background in such a way that even Rose began to dread going back there. She wondered what Rose will tell people about them when she eventually leaves their house. She was still thinking deeply when her husband suddenly walked into the sitting room.

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(NEVER AGAIN) Continues...

Rose will never forget an occasion when Mrs. Odili was far away from home attending a conference abroad. She was at home that Saturday with Pastor Kay and little Kate who was about two years of age at that time. Pastor Kay gave her some of his clothes to wash and iron and while she was ironing one of the shirts, it got burnt. When Rose took the shirt to him to plead and apologize for her error, Pastor Kay grabbed her by her hair back to where the iron was which Rose had already unplugged from the power source, but the iron was still very hot. Pastor Kay, without flinching, raised the hot iron from the table and burnt Rose’s left arm with it which has left an ugly scar on that arm till date. She cried out her eyes that day and still got some punches from Pastor Kay who ordered her to shut her mouth up in order not to attract the neighbours with her outcry. That day, Rose made up her mind to return to her village which she dreaded so much. She had left her poor village with the hope of making it big in the city before returning, but now, the hope has been dashed. She preferred to return to her poor widowed mother and her siblings to suffer hunger and hardship instead of this ill treatment she’s getting from her supposed caregivers. She made up her mind to communicate this decision with Mrs. Odili once she returns from her trip.

Two days after the incident, at about 4:30p.m, Mrs. Odili returned home in the company of her friends, associates and members of their church who came to welcome her. Rose was locked up in her room by Pastor Kay due to the wound on her arm which was still very noticeable. She was warned never to make any noise until all the guests had left. Rose just used the opportunity to pack all her belongings together deciding to leave the house the next morning whether the Odilis like it or not. Some hours later, after all the guests had gone, at about 7:45p.m, Pastor Kay unlocked the door to Rose’s room, opened it and saw her sitting quietly and staring at the floor. ‘Go and clean up the sitting room, it’s in a mess right now’, Pastor Kay ordered her; ‘and be fast with it so you can make dinner because I’m so hungry’, he said and left, leaving the door opened. Rose stood up and went downstairs to the sitting room to clean it up. While she was at it, Mrs. Odili came by to pick up her mobile phone which she left on the couch.

‘Good evening ma, welcome back home ma’, said Rose.

Mrs. Odili looked at Rose with disgust, her protruding stomach evident that she’s in her trimester. ‘Rose, my husband told me of all the nonsense you have been doing while I was away. I can see your stupidity is becoming too much right?’

‘I’m sorry ma’, Rose responded as she stood still, slightly exposing her left arm for Mrs. Odili to notice the wound, hoping to get a sympathy for the ill treatment meted on her by her husband.

‘Oh! That?’ Mrs. Odili said as she pointed at the wounded arm, ‘My husband already told me about that too. You are just lucky it wasn’t my cloth you got burnt, if not, I would have used the hot iron all over your face, stupid girl!’ she said as she picked up her phone and left the sitting room.

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(NEVER AGAIN) Continues...

Rose was both physically and emotionally abused by the Odilis whom people from the church and environs held in high esteem. They saw the Odilis as a calm, peace loving and God fearing couple who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Very few had their doubts about the Odilis, especially after seeing injuries inflicted on their house help, but they wouldn’t say a word about it because the Odilis were highly respected in church and in the society. In fact, to most people, Pastor Kay is such a nice man with a wife who has a heart of gold. Well, that is what the Odilis portrayed themselves to be but Rose knew them to be monsters, wolves in sheep clothing, nothing near to godly. After each assault meted out on Rose by the Odilis, she was threatened by the couple never to say anything that will tarnish their image to anyone who comes visiting or outside the house. They encouraged her to tell lies about the injuries she got from the ill treatment otherwise they will either kill her or send her back to her poor village to wallow in poverty. Rose dreaded the thought of dying or going back to her village, so she made up her mind to live by the rules of Pastor Kay and his wife without saying anything that will dent the couple’s image. She endured all emotional and physical abuse inflicted on her by the couple and wouldn’t open up to all those asking about the injuries on her body. She even began to keep to herself so as to avoid those always prying into her private life and her stay with the Odilis. People saw her as a weirdo; even her friends dissociated from her not knowing that she had a lot that she was passing through. Some of the members of their church even thought that Rose must have been possessed with some evil spirits who want to bring down the wonderful and peace loving Pastor Kay.

When the Odili’s daughter, Kate, turned two, Rose being sixteen, Mrs. Odili conceived again. She had pregnancy complications at some points which made her spend the little time she would have spent at home after work in the hospital. Her absence began to be felt in the house and she was encouraged by her husband, Pastor Kay, to quit her job so that she can ease the stress on herself and have her baby successfully, but she wouldn’t heed to that advice. She has worked so many years to attain the level at which she is in her workplace and was just few steps to clinch the top managerial role. She chose her career over her home because she saw many benefits that will come with her attaining the top spot in her workplace. ‘This is surely not the time to quit this job’, she often tells her husband; ‘We will scale through this, okay? Let the baby we are expecting not be a hindrance to something I have worked so hard to achieve’. Mrs. Odili often has a way of making her husband to agree to her demands and she got this too. At times, the job required her to travel outside the country to attend conferences where she will be representing her organization for weeks.

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(NEVER AGAIN) Continues...

As the sermon proceeded, Rose began to recapture the past of how she came and has been living with the Odilis. She was nine years old when she was brought from the village to live with the Odilis in the city who just got married at that time. In the first three years of her stay at the Odilis, things went well for her and the couple treated her like their own child seeing they had no child of their own then. When Rose turned thirteen, Mrs. Odili conceived after about three years of marriage. Since then, things began to gradually turn sour for Rose as she was no longer treated like a daughter to the couple but a maid that she is. The would-be parents were so excited about the pregnancy that they cared less of Rose’s wellbeing. In fact, things got worse when Mrs. Odili got a promotion in her work place just six months after she gave birth to her first child Kate. Her job became so demanding that she hardly had the time for her husband and little Kate. As a teenager, Rose was saddled with the responsibility of caring for the baby and Pastor Kay whenever Mrs. Odili is away.

Stressed from work, Mrs. Odili often came back home and transferred her aggression to poor Rose who must have been working all day caring for little Kate and Pastor Kay who comes home early each day after work. Mrs. Odili wouldn’t hesitate to hit Rose with any available object close to her at little provocation. Rose began to be displeased in her sight as whatever Rose did, she must find errors in it. Even when Pastor Kay tried to talk to his wife about her attitude towards Rose, she wouldn’t listen; she will rather accuse her husband of being a hypocrite seeing he also inflicts injuries on Rose whenever he is provoked. Rose turned out to be the punch bag which the couple turned to in order to vent all their anger upon.

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STORY 003
TITLE: NEVER AGAIN (Part One)
Written by Amicable24

It’s a funeral service at St. Bartholomew’s Church of one of its senior pastors, Pastor Kennedy Odili fondly called Pastor Kay. There in the church, with Pastor Kay’s body enclosed in a golden-brown casket, Reverend Dr. Dele Matthew, a reverend in the church, is giving a renowned funeral sermon reminding those assembled for the funeral that anyone who has passed on in faith, just like Pastor Kay, will have eternal life with Christ. Right in front of Reverend Dele, in the very front row of the pew, is Mrs. Odili crying uncontrollably for the loss of her husband and is being surrounded by about three women from the church consoling her. As Mrs. Odili wept, her two children, Kate and Junior, being about six and three years respectively, sat right there with her crying, knowing little or nothing about what has happened.

The atmosphere in the church is one of grief for the bereaved and everyone seems to mourn sorrowfully for Pastor Kay’s demise except for Rose, a twenty year old young lady, who lives with the Odilis as a house help. She just sat there, alone in one of the pews at the back row, all by herself with a lot running through her mind - ‘Thank God he’s gone forever’, she says inwardly; ‘Just look at how these people are wasting their tears for a monster who doesn’t deserve it’. Occasionally, she feigned a sorrowful look when anyone looks her way, but deep inside of her is a mix of joy and resentment for the demise.

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