CHIEF MACDONALD ENWERE( ALIRIELEMBA)
Today is Good Friday, the fifth day of the passion week or Holy week, which marks the beginning of the celebration of Easter. It is a day when Christians all over the world commemorate the passion and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ by crucifixion outside the walls of the old City of Jerusalem where Christ laid down the ground rules of a life of sacrificial love.
Historically, the crucifixion of Christ on the cross of Calvary represented the partial fullfilment of the prophecy of the old and his own prediction on the salvation of mankind. Good Friday occurred at the summit of the holy week when Christ endured the passion of his crucifixion and ultimately offered up his spirit on the promise of superabundant life and salvation of the world.
Good Friday reminds Christians on the need to recognize the significance and centrality of the cross as the symbol of sacrificial love and compassion. It is a period to meditate on the paradox of Christ’s suffering as a precursor of glad tidings. It is also a moment of sobriety and a time to reflect on the true value of the cross of Calvary on which the Christian faith is grounded.
Christians should use this opportunity to redirect their attention towards a new dedication to promoting the ultimate prize of salvation, which Christ has bequeathed. It is also a time to self-appraise on the extent that our adherence to the life and teachings of Christ have impacted national ethos and value. And also on how the leading light of the gospel and the values emanating from it shone to illuminate a society gripped by darkness of selflessness and greed.
Today, the world is stuck by large-scale deprivation, devastation, destitution, and suffering. Christians should, therefore, engage in a genuine introspection on whether they have truly represented and demonstrated the virtues of Christ in building a society worthy of his legacy of justice, fortitude, humility, love, and sacrifice
As we celebrate this year’s Good Friday today, may the lessons of love and sacrifice which Christ embodied at the cross of Calvary find a fertile ground in our hearts.
Chief MacDonald Enwere (Alirielemba) is the publisher of Bold Magazine and CEO of BOLDMEDIA.
