TB JOSHUA: THE MAN WHO BELIEVED IN ETERNAL MORNINGS
Sola Ojewusi pays tribute to Temitope Balogun Joshua, a pastor and philanthropist
Well, finally, I have enough strength and fortitude to write this tribute in honour of my friend, mentor and benevolent supporter, TB. Joshua. I must confess it's been so difficult for me to come to terms with the rude shock of a passing so monumental. It took me this long because the sledgehammer of his passing on the heart, the psyche was just unimaginable. I just didn't have enough presence of mind to put the right words on paper. Or how do you begin to write in the past tense, the life of a man you spoke with few days earlier and who never showed any inkling of the sad epiphany that the end in this mortal terrain was near? How do you string together enough words to tell the world that this man they knew was more than the man they knew? How do you recall the wonderful times when a man's humanity truly shone like millions of watts of light?
TB Joshua was a man of astonishing mould, a non-pareil specimen of God's deft creative hands. He was the cornucopia of man's true rise from grass to grace. He was a guy who defied unimaginable poverty to carve a niche for himself, choosing the path of service. From what seemed like a crude, rustic beginning, this man surprised us by rising through the doldrums of obscurity to the high pedestals of international renown. He was our Number one religious tourism ambassador. From the far reaches of the world, pilgrims came in droves in search of compassion and redemption. Through him, our nation Nigeria, in spite of the sham caused by political maladventure, became the bride of millions of citizens of the world who craved to see the very land that produced such a man.
You may not like his style of Christianity but you can never deny his place as a true pride of our nation. At least he made the world believe that something good can come from this hapless land! TB Joshua's ministry was that of God's compassion and His unimaginable love. He made charity look so effortless and selfless-giving a way of life. His passion for the downtrodden and underprivileged warmed our hearts.
TB Joshua's door was open to the High and Mighty just as it was always ajar for the ordinary folks in the streets. He dined with the physically challenged, transforming their lives in many amazing ways. The elderly had a dream life with TB Joshua. His memorable trips to the homes of the aged and dying, giving them joy brought tears of joy to our eyes.
His snuggling up to the leppers and mendicants of Oko-Oba settlements remain unsurpassed by his contemporaries. His eyegoggling display of practical Christianity and the power of grace and Chris-like redemption amazed even the worst of sceptics.
Even those who were not of the Christian faith were awed by his acts of faith and love. According to one Suleiman Alhassan on Facebook, "Not minding my religious background, I had always loved his commitment and dedication to the service of God and humanity. He lived for others and though died in his prime, he recreated himself in a lot of people through his selflessness. I use this opportunity to condole the family and indeed his multitude of members across the world. May he find eternal peace with the Lord. Amen."
Popular TV man Babajide Kolade- Otitoju could not contain his respect for Joshua. He wrote: "Prophet TB Joshua. You will be sorely missed for your philanthropy. My last two bibles were gifts from your humble self. RIP." Another observer of this unique life, Adisa Oluwasegunfunmi Edwards wrote, "We lost a real and rare gem. Ìgbà táa bá kú tán là dère (We only become idolised after we've gone). May his gentle soul continue to rest peacefully well."
These were just a few heartfelt tributes in a deluge of effusive commendations from the nation and the world's high and mighty and the millions of ordinary folks on our universal streets. According to a man who lived around the precincts of the church headquarters in Lagos, one of the thousands of Joshua's neighbours who had over the years been beneficiaries of a man's amazing love, "We are all orphans with this singular death."
TB Joshua was a man of huge and practical faith. He was a prophet who believed that as God's children, in spite of the drudgery and vagaries of life, we must live in eternal mornings. That was why there is never afternoon nor evening when you're greeted or welcomed to the church. So it should not surprise you when you visit at twilight and you are welcomed with the greeting, "Good Morning."
This at first was unclear to me personally. Why would these people keep greeting me "Good morning in the afternoon"? In time, deep reflection on this symbolic gesture made it all plain to me! With Joshua, life was always a new opportunity, a fresh day in the hollow of God's hands. He never believed in the dusks, the dark parts of existence. He wanted the world to know that in faith, man will never have to wallow in the harsh realities of life's afternoons or the dampening happenings of dusk. To him, a Christian's life deserved to be spent in the freshness, the calm and the soothing dews of perpetual mornings.
When he was hit by tragedy and those he considered his children died, he expected his nation, his own people to understand, to commiserate even when they tried to unravel the truth. He was like a voice crying in the wilderness. The prophet's homeland refused to come forward with the love the prophet deserved. What message has his Maker now sent to us as a nation? Is it not something like, "Since you do not value this immeasurable gift, let me as well bring him back into my bosom of true love."
Despite his immense acts of unimaginable love, many despised him, many pilloried him, many excoriated him but he was unperturbed. He never replied his critics directly as far as I know. He carried on with the act of faith, carrying his own cross with admirable calm and equanimity. He ignored his own human frailty while his devoted his body and soul to the welfare of others. Even when he hurt, he never showed it publicly. He immersed himself in the deluge of his mission, soothing, helping, healing and making the burden of others his own.
You may not like his style of Christianity but you can never deny his place as a true pride of our nation. At least he made the world believe that something good can come from this hapless land! TB Joshua's ministry was that of God's compassion and His unimaginable love. He made charity look so effortless and selflessgiving a way of life. His passion for the downtrodden and underprivileged
warmed our hearts.