MANIFESTING THE VALUES OF EASTER

Page 7: Daily Graphic, April 5, 2012 THE Christian community will climax the celebration of the foundation of their faith, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, this weekend to end their 40-day Lenten season, a period of fasting, penance and renewal. Others will mark the occasion with social activities such as fund-raising and merry-making. The message of Easter is that the forces of evil, sin and oppression are defeated by the power of truth, love, peace, uprightness and reconciliation. It also affirms our acknowledgement and appreciation of what Jesus Christ suffered for our sake. Easter is, therefore, more than eating and drinking. It entails praising and thanking God for His salvation. The death and resurrection of Jesus reconcile us to our Maker (1 Peter 1:3), which is the foundation of the Christian faith. It celebrates God’s promise of a new beginning for those who will obey Him, thereby teaching us to live and die in perfect obedience to and faith in God. While celebrating this great festivity, we need to remind ourselves of some of the messages that it teaches us and how we have to live those teachings. The Daily Graphic believes the message of Easter — peace, reconciliation and unity — is what this country needs now more than ever before. There is so much bitterness, foul and unforgiving spirit in our body politic that we think everyone needs to ponder over them and take concrete steps to address. We can only benefit from the peace that Jesus Christ bestowed on His disciples as His first gift to them after His resurrection if we, individually, take steps to reconcile with all those who have offended us in one way or another. We need to refrain from utterances or activities that will compound the already bad situation. The confusion, rancour, bitterness and resentment that are tearing this country apart must give way. It is not in the country’s interest for any group of persons to take the law into their own hands, otherwise society will degenerate into a state of nature. The death and resurrection of Jesus reconciled us to God and our fellow human beings. Therefore, we cannot celebrate the joy of Easter if we are not reconciled to ourselves. Ghana needs a peaceful atmosphere and a united people to sustain the peace that Christ’s resurrection has bestowed on us. The culture of lies, violence, hatred and corruption must all give way to the virtues of love, peace, kindness and compassion. As the second phase of the biometric registration exercise starts, we urge all Ghanaians to manifest the peace of Easter by avoiding any acts of provocation that will create problems for our country. The Daily Graphic entreats all Ghanaians to demonstrate the gift of Easter by focusing on the values it brings to us. We wish all Ghanaians a Happy Easter.