Opinions of Thursday, 24 March 2016

Columnist: Daily Guide

Time to reflect

Easter is not just about merriment but largely a time to reflect on the true meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.

Even as we engage in the merriment as we always do when Easter is due, religiously we should be doing more reflection on the true meaning of the Cross and Christianity as a means of straightening the crooked ways of our country.

In his Easter message, as contained elsewhere in this edition, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, Ghana, Rev Dr Paul Frimpong Manso, rightly demanded of Christians to focus their attention on the true meaning of the Cross. There could not have been a better admonition to Christians at this time when mankind is witnessing myriad temptations, some dictated by the challenges posed by the downward spiral of the economy.

Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross and the lessons thereof can exact the much-needed transformation in a world overwhelmed by destructive iniquities.

It would seem the lessons that we should learn from the ministry of Jesus Christ and his eventual death on the Cross have been lost on us. There is little or minimal propensity to sacrifice by mankind – a deficiency which has affected good governance and public service delivery.

Service to humanity has largely given way to individualism as the poor especially suffer most of the effects of these societal deficiencies. In the face of this, nonetheless, churchgoing and religious activities have gathered unusual momentum in the lives of the citizenry.

Fortunately, these religious notches on our calendars such as Easter remain important constants or beacons to remind us about the need to refocus our attention on those things required of us to make the world a better place.

Corruption has become so endemic that it is now a feature of everyday activity, no longer a societal blemish to sneer at.

Most people are suffering economically not because God has not endowed us with the natural resources in their appropriate ratio, but because of greed. Those put in places of responsibility to manage on our behalf have been consumed by so much greed that the word of God and the lessons of the great sacrifice of Christ have been lost on them. The resultant consequences are the insufficient salaries, rooftop prices beyond the means of the ordinary man, unemployment, insufficient shelter and food in a country where fertile soil is not in short supply.

The sacrifice of Christ on the Cross – a reflection of God’s love and righteousness – should propel us to eschew evil and tread on the path of Godliness.

Let us all resolve to become agents of the bountiful love of God drawing the many lessons of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as we commemorate Easter.

To our wonderful readers who have remained consistent in their patronage, we wish all of them a wonderful and reflective Easter.