A Christian apologist Evangelist Ibrahim Dikko has recounted how he reconciled with his Muslim parents after 14 years of persecution, rejection and disownment.
He gave the account on his Facebook page saying his journey into Christianity was decorated with many persecutions.
Ibrahim said however that his dad finally reconciled with him and allowed him to serve Jesus whom he had accepted to be his Lord and Savior.
While noting that the reconcilation took place in 2023 he said, ‘ When we come to Christ, we are no longer the most important person in the world but Christ is. Instead of living only for ourselves, we have a higher goal: to live for Jesus.’
The experience
He recalled, ‘ I. remember when I ran away from home after my father invited Hisba to come and beat me and my mother stood her ground that nobody would touch her only son,. After that event, I ran away from the house, and since then I couldn’t return to the house until Jesus finished molding and reshaping me to what I am today.
‘I left home, hopeless, visionless, and without direction, as an Ex-Muslim it was so difficult for Churches to accommodate me but all my faith and hope were directly to Jesus whom I have desired to follow with passion and zeal. I told Jesus, I was rejected because of you, please help me and bless me, make them see the result in following you, Lord.’
The road that leads to heaven is risky, lonely, and costly in this world, and few are willing to pay the price. Following Jesus involves losing your life and finding new life in him: I left home with nothing and I returned home with something:
Transformation
While away from home, Ibrahim said he obtained his WAEC and NECO..He also obtained obtained his diploma and degree. He got married and was blessed with a son.
He recalled the moment his father called him home to reconcile with him. ‘ My father immediately saw me he began to weep after so many years away from him and I was bold enough to ask just one question, Dad what negative things did you see in me for becoming a Christian? He said nothing, son.’
Ibrahim who has been saved for 18 years said Jesus did for him what Mohammed couldn’t do. He wrote, ‘In Mohammad, I was hopeless, but in Jesus hope was restored. In Mohammad, I was a slave, but in Jesus I am a child. In Mohammad, I was visionless but in Jesus, I am full of visions.. In Mohammad no career, no dream but in Jesus, there is a career and dream. In Mohammad, I was an illiterate but in Jesus I am not an illiterate.
‘In Mohammad Almajiri only but Jesus called me to preach the Gospel. In Mohammad fights Jihad but in Jesus is a soul winner. In Mohammad I prayed five times daily but in Jesus I pray without seasons.’
Message to Christians.
Ibrahim said further, ‘You cannot be Christ’s servant if you are not willing to follow him and carry your cross and all. What do you crave? A crown? Then it must be a crown of thorns if you are to be like him. Do you want to be lifted up? So you shall, but it will be upon a cross:
‘When my father saw the transformations he was full of astonishment. He was like was it, not the child I sent away, was he, not the child I persecuted because of this Jesus,. He saw my son.and that I returned home with so many blessings.
The role of his wife
Ibrahim expressed great appreciation to his wife who initiated the reconciliation with his parents.
He wrote, ‘after our marriage my wife said she could not stay without good relationships with her father and mother-in-law and she started praying and fasting and she began to call my father and mother and that was how my father personally called me.’
Being a Christian according to Ibrahim requires ‘being willing to detach oneself constantly from any need to be relevant, and to trust ever more deeply in the Word of God.’
Free from sin
He noted that Jesus Christ died to save us from sin while also adding that he lived to show us a lifestyle free from sin.
He asked, ‘So, wouldn’t following in his footsteps be something like preventative medicine? Abiding time is having. extravagant daily time with Jesus. This extravagant time is the center of abiding.
‘Not legalism, not dry discipline, not manufactured spirituality, but joyous soaking in the presence of Jesus, lavish spending of time with Him who is most precious, Him from whom all life flows. In a world that is over-connected yet lonely, frantically busy yet accomplishing little of eternal value, super-informed but egregiously ignorant on what really matters,. Abiding and giving Jesus the best of our time leads us to the best of times.’
