Elder Ikoku’s words kept ringing in my heart as I reached home. Was it true that I was just a church goer and not a church member. Is he right that my name is not in the register of heaven? Am I truly the Judas among the twelve? The answer to these questions were yes. There is always a moment of truth. Of course, that day was my moment of truth.

I never had a base as far as church is concerned until I met Onyebu. He painted a good picture of his church and told me that ones I joined, my problems would be over. I decided to give it a trial.

The moment I arrived the church I saw it as a fertile ground because of the quality and quantity of members. A church were about 30 members were car owners was truly a fertile ground for a mechanic. I quickly approached the pastor and informed him that I was a tested and trusted mechanic. Pastor received the news with joy because according to him, none of the members was a mechanic. Little wonder that he brought me out before the entire church and introduced me to them. A singular act that would have made me for life but what I had in me ruined that opportunity. Pastor immediately adopted me as his car repairer but I frustrated him.

Whenever his car breaks down and he contacts me, I would ignore him and be attending to other customers. Of course, he would always wait for me till when I am ready. That could be after three or four days. He kept managing me until after a year and he gave up on me.

Another thing was that I was over charging both the church and the members, using the name of the Lord. I charge them double of what I would have charged other customers. But, I would claim that I was giving them cheap price because they were my church members. I kept deceiving myself, thinking that I was deceiving another person.

The church bus was under my care; I was in charge of the maintenance and repairs. So, I turned it to a major source of income. I was seen as a giver in the church. But they never knew that I collect the money indirectly from church through repairs of the church bus. Most times, I would claim that the bus had developed fault just to make money from the church. Whenever I charge them for the repair of the bus, they don’t price it. They felt that I was a brother in Christ, they never knew I was a brooder of evil.

As I sat in my room on that day, thinking of all these, I came to a conclusion that I was the architect of all my problems. The enemy I had been searching for, was myself. Suddenly, I broke down in tears. For the first time in my life, I sincerely felt sorry for my wrongdoings. I wept for a long time, asking God for forgiveness. I was convinced that God has forgiven me, but I was constantly hunted by the evil I committed against the church and the members. I made up my mind to go and confess to Pastor.

Pastor was watching in wonder as I kept confessing all the evil I committed against the church. Minutes after my confession, Pastor was still gazing at me. He was too stunned to speak. Later, he found his voice.

“Bro Iyk, if I tell you that I am surprised at the confession you made, it is an understatement. Your case is worse than I could ever imagine. But all the same, I am happy. One good thing about the confession you just made, is that no one forced or cajoled you to do so. I believed that it is a product of an encounter with the Most High. I pray that the Lord who started the good work in you will complete it even to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ?”

I pleaded with Pastor to create chance for me to apologize to the entire church. The request was granted to me. On Sunday morning, Pastor called me out and announced that I want to address the entire church. Immediately I came out, tears filled my eyes. My legs could not carry me, so I had to be on my knees.

“My fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters in the Lord. I am here to render my heart felt apologies to you all. I am not worthy to be called your brother but I plead that you show me mercy. Please over look my sins for the sake of Christ. When I joined this church, you all welcomed me with open arms. You treated me well; rallied around to patronize my business and put food on my table. But what did I do? I paid you all with evil. Even after that, I moved on with my life as if those evil I did never mattered.

But I have realized my mistakes. That is why I am seeking for your forgiveness. I heard that people were joining churches, so I decided to join. I saw church as a social gathering where you can do as you like. I neither had an encounter with Christ nor surrendered my life to him. My worst moment in church was preaching time. So, I usually while away the time by sleeping. But my best time was praise time when I come out to display the talent I acquired from night clubs.

I will eternally be grateful to elder Ikoku. He told me the bitter truth about my life. He made me to realize my true status in church and opened my eyes to realities. He didn’t stop there; He also presented Jesus as the only way out of my ordeal. That was the beginning of the journey that led me to surrender my life to Christ.

Few years ago, Bro Onyebu invited me to church. I came as I was. I also remained as I was. The only new thing I learnt was prayer and fasting. I was displaying zeal without knowledge. I was praying against my enemies without knowing that I was the real enemy.

However, last week, Elder Ikoku invited me to Christ God used that single conversation to turn my life around for good. I hereby make a promise that I will pay anybody that I am owing. If I collected money for any job that I never did, I will refund the money. This is my plea. Have mercy on me.”

It was a solemn moment. Majority of the church members were moved to tears. Elder Ikoku and some other members came out to help me stand to my feet.

I swung into action immediately to fulfill the promise I made before the church. I made attempts to pay back my creditors but they all showed me unmerited love; the love of Christ. They refused to collect the refund. All the car owners in the church gradually adopted me again as their car repairer. That marked the beginning of my greatness. But then , my struggle with Nedu was yet to be resolved.

Watch out for the next episode