Adeoye was a hunter-cum farmer who once lived in the village of Igbo-Baba, a growing community of about 34km to Ogbomoso - my hometown. Life there was rustic and down-to-earth, and nobody hardly lay claims to anything. Adeoye has always been notorius for his greed, a trait that has been with him from his childhood days. This particular year, the raining season had ended and the sun had really scorched the farmlands, therefore all the bushes had dried up.

It was therefore  time for the annual hunting expedition in the village. All the hunters in the village - both famous and the not too famous were eagerly waiting for the D-day. The day eventually came; they all gathered for a pre-departure meeting in front of the residence of the Oluode - the chief hunter. They prayed for a successful outing, however Adeoye offered to make a request. "Let every hunter go home with whatever game he kills", he said, as he continued with a frowned face, "I am not ready to share anything with anybody."

The other hunters look at him with surprises on their faces, "You have come again", said Ajayi at the top of his voice, "the leopard never changes its color." Adeoye was annoyed with Ajayi and a  fight almost ensued between them if not for the elders who promptly came to calm their nerves. One of the elderly hunters called Ogungbe immediately resolved the matter in Ajayi's favor, "let Ajayi alone go with whatever game he kills but as for all of us, we would share our game with one another". With this decision, they all departed to Igbo-Elerin - the forest where the expedition was to  take place. Their 43 dogs were also not left behind with 'Riro' leading the pack.

Adeoye did not spend more than an hour at Igbo-Elerin before he killed an hare. He felt elated because it looked like things were actually working in his favor. Others were initially not so lucky as they were running from one direction to the other chasing game animals. The tide however changed for the other hunters in the evening  when they began to kill animals in numbers, it was unbelievable for most of them who were on the verge of giving up as the grasscutter was the least of the game in their kitty.

Adeoye could not believe his eyes when he met the hunters at the expedition junction. The agony and the pains of shame were all  over him. He just could not utter a word while they were going back to the village. He watched helplessly while the other hunters were sharing their game. Ogungbe- the highly respected hunter looked at him and said, "I believe you can now go home with the game you killed", he continued and said, "let the greedy hunter first kill his game so that we may all know his own share."

The lesson from my story is simple. Let us learn to share the little that we have with others, let us learn to give because there is no way we can show we love and care without giving and sharing. God gave us His very best i.e. Jesus Christ. Let us reciprocate this love by sharing and giving what we have. Let us remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

You can know the love of God today if only you will learn to hear his voice. Remain blessed.