THE MAN THAT GOD FORGOT

When I was seventeen, just recently graduated high school and exploring my faith, I wrote this beautiful piece that was supposed to be a prologue to an even more beautiful book. It was a work of fiction based on a Christian boy, Isaac, raised in the church. He graduates university with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, probably best in his class, you know how most books go. Gets a very good job and decides for his long-paid leave what better way to repay God than being hands on in the building of the church’s youth center back home? But things don’t exactly go as he planned, because while on site, he is involved in an accident that leaves him in a wheel chair, probably for life.

Here is the piece below.

*****

Growing up, my father always taught me about the Bible, the holy book. The book that spoke of God’s mind and all the great things.

We started from the book of Genesis; he read to me how God created the world with his words, how he created man in his own image and likeness, he read to me about Adam, eve, Cain, Abel, Noah and his sons, about God’s friend Abraham. By the time we finished genesis, I was fascinated by Gods power and wanted to learn more about his word.

He taught me how God never forgot about his people and how he always kept his promise. Like how he remembered Abraham, his servant. The bible tells me in Genesis that God told Abraham he shall be exceeding fruitful and he shall make nations of him, kings shall come out of him.

As he read further, I learnt God finally blessed him with a son, Isaac!

“But how are those descendants as many as the stars Papa?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed as he read to me at our usual afternoon spot.

A small smile tugged on his lips as he flipped his worn blue cover bible to the New Testament to a book titled ‘Matthew.’

“I wasn’t supposed to read this until a later stage but I want you to understand something Isaac, “he whispered to me, his rich brown eyes on me.

“Matthew chapter one. The book of the generations of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” he began. He read to me about how the children of God became more.

“Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob and his brother Esau, Jacob begot Juda and his brothers...”

I don’t remember the rest because I had grown tired. “Maybe this chain would reach us,” I would think as he read the strange names.

“Now listen Isaac as we conclude this chain,” he spoke looking up from his Bible. “And Nathan begot Jacob, Jacob begot joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” And he closed his bible gently and stared at me.

“Son, I want you to know something very important. he promised Abraham descendants as many as the stars and he granted that with time. He gave him kings such as David and Solomon in his bloodline,” I watched a wide smile pop up on his face.

“Finally,” he whispered, leaning in to tell me something very important. “He made it possible that Jesus Christ may also be part of that line.”

“God never forgets his promises, even if it may be generations later. He never forgets his people.”

But here I was, years later stuck in a wheelchair. I was the man that God forgot.

*****

Much like Nate, our lives don’t go as planned. We planned to finish college at a certain age, travel the world, buy a car and so much more. I for one can say it didn’t go that well, I didn’t get into the university I wanted, I didn’t write the best-selling novel that had a unique plot for Christianity. In fact, I didn’t do much. But I realized I needed to go through that character-building phase, I had to learn to persevere when things didn’t go my way, I had to learn when to throw in the towel, I had to learn when to take a break and try again later. I had to learn what my priorities were. Much like Abraham and David, I had to learn that God’s plans are more long term, they were meant to last even after I was gone.

And if I continued with the book, Isaac was going to realize that he wasn’t the man that God forgot, he was in his character-building phase, because God’s plans for him were great.

He was the man that God could never forget.

- By Nchimunya Simbwedele -