A couple of years ago, a video clip on social media showed an encounter between a barber and a man of God. The former was an atheist. One day after a haircut and the usual “God bless you’’ parting greetings from the preacher, the non-believing man told his friend that if a righteous God indeed existed, sin and evil wouldn’t be prevalent in the world. Quietly, the barber’s friend left the room.
Just outside the shop, he met a man who looked like he hadn’t shaved since birth. His hair overflowed to the shoulders and the chest, while there was a thick crop over the face and the chin. The preacher brought him to the barber. He said: ’’There are no barbers in this world, otherwise we wouldn’t have hairy men like this gentleman unattended to.’’ The shocked atheist responded, ‘’Of course, there are numerous barbers in town who can give him a decent look; am one of them, but he has refused to come and benefit from my services.’’ The man of God replied: ‘’God also exists to help man and deliver him from his uncleanness. But he has shunned Him, and so he has remained in his struggle and trouble. He must go back to Him for complete clean-up and deliverance.’’
You are reminded of this story as you read these two books by Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, convener of the acclaimed Global Crusade with Kumuyi, (GCK). His definitive conclusion in the works under review, after a plunge into the Holy Bible, is that mankind must go back to God, the Founder of the marriage institution, to fix the system for him. The entire span of humanity isn’t getting it right because the family, upon which the society rests, has forsaken the One Who created it and issued the laws to enable its sustenance in joy, peace and harmony.
If the family is reset in His ways and laws, there would be flow of its salutary impact on society, nation and community. God does exist. But man has exited Him through the rejection of His commandments on marriage. That, Kumuyi, says is the genesis of the trouble in the world, the flight of man from his Creator, not the non-existence of God or His flight from His creatures, as some falsely suggest.
In Marriage and Family Life—Getting the Best, Kumuyi, also the General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, (DCLM), and its founder, identifies marriage ‘’as the hub of human life…the basic unit and foundation…of the world.’’ Quite early in the book, Pastor cautions that because God ‘’ordained’’ marriage, man must cede space to Him and His commandments in this area. He refers to Him as the ‘’Best Matchmaker’’. Once the Christian makes up their mind to marry, Kumuyi, cautions, they must go to God ‘’in purposeful prayer. You cannot get (a good partner) outside the counsel of God.’’ Then over the subsequent chapters the book covers the different stages of finding, knowing and doing the will of God, moving into the period of courtship and the final step into marriage.
Kumuyi reveals himself as an industrious servant of God eager to present the Lord’s faithfulness to those who trust Him for a lasting union. So, he comes up with the ABC to Z of solving marital challenges. At X, he writes: ‘’X is formed with two antithetical lines which implies a crossroads. Crossroads will occur in your life…with your husbands or wife. You must bring Jesus, the Prince of peace, into your situation.’’
In the second book, The Spirit-Controlled Family, Kumuyi asserts that although many books have been written on marriage, the authors have not accommodated ‘’the ingredients that enrich and strengthen marriage relationships. He proceeds to talk about the ‘’indispensability of the Spirit of God in the family.’’
He refers to Faith, Hope and Love as the three pillars that build and fortify the home. He declares: ’’If these are found in a home,’’ Kumuyi writes authoritatively, ‘’the home will never collapse…These three form the foundation of a stable home.’’ He insists that we must allow the Spirit of the Lord to have an overwhelming presence in the home, so that He can in turn release its products of faith, hope and love into the society and its constituents: church, schools, markets, workplaces, hospitals and other public places.
As Pastor Kumuyi concludes, he warns of phases in relationships ‘’when ‘the wine’ of your marriage finishes…When the love seems to dry up…’’ At that point, he advises the praying count on Jesus Who alone can supply fresh and abiding wine as He did at His first miracle during a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee.
The two books bear all the muscularly magisterial mastery of the Kumuyi literary legend. He settles on a thought and allows it to fly on the great unerring wings of Scripture. By the time the pastor is through with his teaching and lands, the readers would find themselves embracing a new world, thoroughly undone with old misconceptions.
Ojewale is a Nigerian writer on a visit to Ghana, while Nti is former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Highways Authority.
Author: William Folorunso Kumuyi
Publishers: Life Press Limited, Lagos, Nigeria
Reviewers: Christian Nti and Banji Ojewale
Number of pages (Combined): 323
This post was originally published on here
