Good Night

“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Lord, keep me safe.” — from Psalm 4

In the evenings Samuel’s children loved to sit around him and hear his stories. Their favourite was about his first shoes. When he was a student he was given heavy army boots, but he had never worn shoes before! He could not take a step. So he held on to the wall and walked round and round the room until he could let go. For months he carried his shoes to church and only put them on at the door. When he told the story, he acted it out, and the children clapped and shouted.

When Samuel was old, sad things happened. In 1880 his dear wife Asano died. Then some young missionaries from England came to the Niger. They did not trust the African ministers, and they took away the jobs of some of them, even Samuel’s own son, without listening to the old bishop. It was not fair, and it hurt Samuel very much. Many years later, the Church of England said, “It was wrong.” But Samuel did not shout or fight back. He went on loving and serving.

In 1891 he became ill and went to stay with his daughter Abigail in Lagos. On the last night of the year, at midnight, Abigail tucked him in and said, “Good night, father.” He answered, “Good night.” A little while later, he went home to be with Jesus.

The boy who had been sold as a slave helped to bring the good news of Jesus to his people. Today there are many millions of Christians in Nigeria, and they read the Bible in Yoruba, Igbo and many other languages.

Samuel trusted God all his life, on happy days and sad ones. At the very end, he could say “Good night” in peace, because he knew he was safe with God.

Dear God, thank you for Samuel Ajayi Crowther and all that you did through his life. Help me to trust you on happy days and sad days, and to know that I am always safe with you. Amen.