It is said that perhaps the most horrifying nightmare a parent can possibly ever go through is when you have to face the painful task of burying your own child. It is as gruelling as it is horrendous.
No individual of sound mind would wish it on his worst enemy. The sad memory lives with you forever and it leaves you with a big feeling of emptiness in your soul. And it can take a while, sometimes forever, before the pains finally fade away.The
General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, experienced such tragic loss last year when the shocking news of the death
of his son, Dare, broke out. It was a sad period for Pastor Adeboye, the family
and the entire RCCG family. Recounting the sad incident, he said that it was a
text message sent to him by one of his spiritual daughters that lifted him from
“deep sorrow” caused by the death of his son, Dare, last May.
The
octogenarian preacher said the text message turned the tide following the death
of the 42-year-old child in 2021, adding that God loves him despite the loss of
his son.
Adeboye
spoke at the international headquarters of the church along the Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway during the April 2022 Holy Ghost Service of the church.
Dare,
the third child of 80-year-old Adeboye, died on May 4, 2021 in Eket, Akwa Ibom
State, where he was based with his family. Married to Temiloluwa, the deceased
was the Assistant Pastor in charge of Region (Youth) 35 before his death and
father to three daughters.
Speaking
on the theme, ‘Signs and Wonders’, with Bible text from Isaiah 8:18 on Friday
night, the elder Adeboye said children are proofs that God is a Miracle Worker,
a Covenant-Keeper, a Burden-Bearer and the Defence of the Defenceless.
According
to him, God is a Carrier, who carries burdens, sorrow and problems provided one
has the disposition of a child. Adeboye said, “When I lost my son last year
(2021), and I was deeply in sorrow, I got a text (message) from one of my
(spiritual) daughters that suddenly turned the tide. What she wrote was simply
this: Daddy, let God carry you.”
”I’ve always said it and when I said it,
people argue with me. God loves me more than anybody else. Do you agree? I know
you won’t agree. When I tell you that God loves me more than anybody else; what
do you reply?” he asked thousands of worshippers at the programme who also
replied individually that God loves them more than any other person.’’
Before
his death, late Pastor Dare’s last position was the church’s north-central
youth evangelist overseeing Niger, Benue, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau, and
FCT. His various posts (RCCG Youth
Affairs National & International Director of Programs /Chairman Organizing
Committee of 70hrs Messiah’s Marathon Praise, National Youth Convention &
Northern Zone Abuja SHIFT) have enabled him to comprehend the various
landscapes of young people across the globe and how to increase the church’s
influence.
He
dedicated his life to educating and inspiring young people on how to capitalize on their faith in the various environments they find themselves in. He created
mediums for young people to feel empowered and prepared to carry the mantle of
the church and also expatiate the church’s mission and goals. His fire for God
is easily caught and traversed to the numerous lives he touched.
-
WALE LAWAL
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