Why can’t we?

I’m writing this just after witnessing Malawian Christian Rap artist, Gosple, perform at Blantyre Baptist Church, Blantyre on Saturday,26 November 2011. This show was said to be one that would revolutionize gospel shows in Malawi. I went there for several reasons other than that. I heard an artist from the UK called Jahaziel was going to perform so I went to see what he was made of, I dint even know that ‘the Gosple’ was on the list of performers. I also went there because I heard it was free, go figure.

In my opinion, the show did not disappoint. Performances were witnessed not only by Gosple and Jahaziel but also “True2daname”, KBG and Q. Malewezi. It was a fusion of poetry, and music that crossed genres: I heard Hip Hop, Rock, Reggae and Dancehall plus R’n’B and Soul music. All this without the concert skipping a beat in regards to the messages they were sending with their witty lyrics and mannerisms. It was really something, an experience I would want to re-live.

But the value of the day lay in more than the music or the worship it later turned out to be. See I got there ahead of time, as usual. I found me a chair and looked around for a friendly face but there was none in sight. With no one to talk to, I was just left with my thoughts. So there I was seated backseat. A room filled with people. A Christian concert. Am supposed to be at home here, among fellow believers. Yet why am I so uncomfortable? These people around me make me uncomfortable .Maybe it is just my Social Anxiety Disorder(S.A.D) but fact remains we are supposed to be one body but I feel no connection to anyone here, no bond.

I feel out of place so I ask myself, “was this worth sacrificing my afternoon for? Was it worth getting soaked by the first rains for?” Somehow when the show started all these questions faded away. It occurred to me why the bible asks us Christians to not stop meeting together as we were currently in  the process of doing at this concert: The human being no matter how strong his spirit or character is grows weak every once in a while. When Christians meet together like this you see someone with amazing zeal, incredible faith, strength in his spirit. And this person makes you desire to strive some more. He makes you want to keep going cause you see in him the perfection of the idea of what true faith is and this draws and energizes you to keep going.

For me that 'propellant man' was not Gosple, it was rather the combination of human zeal and the power of the Holy Spirit I witnessed through all who performed. And earlier that day I was feeling lost. I was  confused and had a number of questions in my head that had no answers, needless to say I had had no peace. So I had prayed to God to just take my burden away and just clear things up so I could have peace. For I saw myself heading off the path of righteousness and I did not see clearly where my spiritual life was heading but the grave. There was nothing good about that feeling, and there was nothing I could do in my own power to get me out of that place.

By the time the concert ended my burden was lifted and all my problems solved. I don’t know how, I just know the heaviness in my chest was gone and everything that discomforted me went away. In the bible Jesus says to his disciples “wherever two or three of you are gathered in my name, I am there.” So maybe that was what happened, Jesus paid us all a visit and the power of his presence drove all my problems away.

So it was worth getting soaked in the rain for. For at a time when I needed most I found encouragement and peace in the presence of the believers. So yes “do not stop meeting together as others are now prone to doing” (Hebrews10:25). It matters not how big or small a meeting is. It can be a gospel show, a Wednesday prayer meeting, the Sunday service at church or a simple chat with a fellow believer. Take time from your busy schedule to be there for a while. Do not stop meeting together, that is the command from the word of God, do not stop!

The concert was part of a tour titled The Spokesman Still Living. Gosple asked us at the end of the concert what kind of spokesman he would be if he did not speak of the reason he was there, God. He spoke about how God’s son Jesus had endured 39 whips and a nail-hanging on the cross so that he could die as a sacrifice for the sins of men. That way man would be restored to God, and to that perfection that was created in the garden of Eden; peace, no sickness, no hate.


 If you don’t know Jesus, pick up any copy of the Holy Bible and look for him in there. If you have heard of him but still dodge getting close to him know that it is very embarrassing to ask for help in times of trouble from someone whom you have been deliberately ignoring in your time of joy. All of you open your bibles to John 3:16.Pray for God’s presence and guidance in your life.