Article January 20, 1997 Issue

No "dead cities" in Love

M. Frederic Medjo Nsengue

When I arrived in one of the capitals of Europe from Africa for the first time, I was impressed by the precision used in building and maintaining the city. It reminded me of the old idea of paradise I had heard about in my former religion. The description of the holy city that John saw in the Revelation also came to my thought because everything was so beautiful to look at. John's Revelation says, "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God" (21:10, 11).

I saw that a city is not established by chance, but should express the spiritual reality that man is motivated and governed by Spirit, God. God's government, which is always good, excludes the least bit of disorder. From this I got a completely new concept of what a city is. I knew that the city "descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God," as seen by John, was the clear perception of man's spiritual nature. John saw the spiritual man as the image and likeness of God. This consciousness of the absence of evil, which John experienced, is accessible to us also. These ideas helped me greatly when I returned home.

Like most parts of Africa, my country has experienced some very difficult times in its history. Cities had become "dead cities," that is, through rioting and other elements they were literally closed down. Insecurity, disorder, fire, violence, desolation, fear, and suffering offered a shameful spectacle. Every day large numbers of demonstrators would demand change, and no work could go forward.

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