Easter, Hope For Nigeria

Easter, Hope For Nigeria

Easter is the annual Christian feast that marks the joyful conclusion of the Lenten season and commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death.

The gloomy event and devastating despair of Good Friday that witnessed the death of Christ now gives way to the glorious Easter Sunday of joy.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of God’s mercy and His amazing love for mankind, as he triumphs over sin and death to offer believers hope of eternal life.

Easter as the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.

It is the promise and an assurance for mankind of the victory over the forces of evil and their grip on man.

The good news of Easter is that the story of Jesus Christ did not end with the shameful death on the cross of Calvary, but that there was a dramatic breakthrough that sets the records straight that Christ’s death without the resurrection would have been an end to Christianity and a disgrace.

Therefore, Easter is victory of life over death, light over darkness, hope over despair and love over hate.

Just as when the world had thought that the worst has happened, the best emerged.

The Easter season, therefore, serves as a time of profound hope and spiritual rebirth, inviting believers to participate fully in the newness of life offered through Christ’s resurrection.

Believers therefore must be transformed and embrace a new beginning.

As Christ died and came to new life, Christians are called upon to be harbingers of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to die to self and rise to renewed life aligned with Christ’s life and teachings.

The life and time of Jesus Christ are a perfect example of selflessness, care, affection, compassion and service to humanity.

Presently, life in Nigeria as expressed by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan has become solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.

Unarguably, mistakes have been made by both leaders and the led, past and present, giving rise to various forms of agitations, terrorism and kidnappings by non-state actors.

The socio-economic and political challenges have also given rise to much hunger and anger in the land as if all hope is lost. Easter therefore serves as a time of joyful anticipation and hopeful expectation.

However, as Easter affirms the Christian belief that Jesus’ death on the cross was a necessary sacrifice for the salvation of man, Nigerians must be willing as a nation to make sacrifices for its good and the future.

Most importantly, Leaders at all levels should emulate Jesus Christ as a servant leader who came to serve and not to be served and gave his life as a ransom for many.

They must be honest and eschew greed; must be sensitive to the plight of the masses and make genuine sacrifices even as they demand sacrifices from the people.

Generally, one must see life including trials and tribulations in the light of Easter to get its true meaning.

In the final analysis, the resurrection of Jesus Christ has given a fatal assault to hatred, violent and death ; therefore anger, malice, bitterness, resentment should not be the driving force of the lives of citizens as a nation.

Rather, as Jesus Christ rose from death, his salvation of love which includes forgiveness, mercy, compassion should be the driving force of one’s life in the new order.

It is note worthy that despite all the challenges facing the country today, there would be light at the end of the tunnel, hence the need for prayers for Nigeria and the citizens at all times.

By Rev. Father Bide Okolie, Edited by Grace Namiji