April 17. Bob Goff. Bob is a lawyer, professor, and a NY Times best-selling author. In 2003, Bob founded Restore International, a non-profit human rights organization, to “find daring, productive, and effective ways to fight the injustices committed against children.” His goal is to restore justice to those without a voice—children and poor people. He provides legal assistance, education, and food.
His books encourage others to live extraordinary lives, too. On this date in 2018, Bob released his second book, Everybody Always.
In spite of his busy schedule, Bob makes himself more available, not less, to those who want to talk to him, which means almost a million readers have his cell-phone number. He says that living with constant interruptions is what Jesus did.
Taking a bigger step may be the seed that grows the impossible.
Bob Goff calls himself “a recovering lawyer.” With a passion to spread love everywhere he goes and to encourage others to do the same, he lives out the Gospel at every opportunity. Whether helping a dying widow cross off bucket-list items or defending helpless children from witch doctors, Bob’s life is defined by love in action.
In Uganda, witch doctors have an unofficial immunity. They can torment anyone they want for their own gain. Young boys are of particular interest to them because the boys’ body parts are believed to give them added power. Children are disappearing every week, and the government’s efforts to stop this do little good. This practice has been going on for centuries, and in the last decade, it’s been getting worse.
Kabi, the leader of the witch doctors in the north, was on the move, and eight-year-old Charlie was his next victim. This case was different from a thousand others only because this time Charlie lived to talk about what the witch doctors did to him. Now Bob had a case.
With a deep love for children, and 25 years as a lawyer, Bob stepped in to get Kabi prosecuted and bring this evil system to justice. Kabi went to prison for life. This was the first time in Ugandan history this had happened.
But Charlie’s family abandoned him because of the atrocity, and Bob became Charlie’s legal guardian.
“The minute he attacked Charlie, Kabi became my enemy,” Bob said. “It’s easy to talk a good game about loving your enemies until you have one. I realized if I wanted big things to happen in my life, I’d need to take bigger steps and risk more than I had before, so I decided to visit Kabi in prison.”
With the same love that compelled Bob to love Charlie, Bob walked in to Luzira Maximum Security Prison, where Kabi had been incarcerated, one of the scariest places on the planet, and asked to see Kabi.
“Kabi entered the dark room where I was waiting,” Bob said. “He had no shoes and was wearing a torn, dirty prison uniform.” He seemed remorseful.
He told Bob, “I know I am going to die in this place; what I need is forgiveness.” Kabi came to Christ in that dark room and began to learn about Jesus.
During his next prison visit, Bob asked the warden if they could share Jesus with the men in Luzira. “At first he waved me off, but then, as if I’d done a Jedi move, he said he’d let Kabi talk to them.” Bob and Kabi soon found themselves standing before the 3,000 death-row prisoners.
Not as enemies, but as brothers, Bob held Kabi’s hand as Kabi shared what Jesus had done in him. “Every guy in that place knew who Kabi was and what he had done, and more than a few knew I was the guy who put him there.” When Kabi finished speaking, hundreds of men walked toward them. The men on death row wanted to know about this Jesus who could reconcile such obvious enemies. <.p>
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you,” (Luke 6: 27–28, NIV).
Are there enemies in your life God is asking you to forgive? Taking a bigger step may be the seed that grows the impossible.
“Bob Goff Author Profile.” New Release Today. June 30, 2012. https://www.newreleasetoday.com/authordetail.php?aut_id=1018
Rogers, Joshua. “Five Questions With Bob Goff.” Boundless. Focus on the Family. October 13, 2014.
https://www.boundless.org/blog/five-questions-with-a-new-york-times-best-selling-author/
Seither, Marci. “Bob Goff’s Audacious Parenting Adventure.” Focus on the Family. November 1, 2017.
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/Bparenting/Bbob-goffs-audacious-parenting-adventure/
https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3344511.htm
Everyone Always, Bob Goff, Nashville, Tennessee, Nelson Books, 2018
http://www.100huntley.com/watch?id=227620 Exclusive interview with Bob Goff
Story read by Nathan Walker
Story written by: Toni M Babcock, https://www.facebook.com/toni.babcock.1