DAILY GRAPHIC, Wednesday, April 11, 2012, Pg. 7. Reconciliation during Easter

Feature by: Mary Ankrah

As the celebration of Easter affords people the opportunity to turn a new leaf, it is incumbent on all to reconcile with their families, friends, communities and political opponents as Christ died on the Cross to link us again with God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection, to believers, means His victory over death and the granting of eternal life to all those who believe in Him. Therefore, the forgiveness of sins by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is a lesson that all mankind must emulate and practise.

But forgiveness and reconciliation is often hard to come by. Indeed, vengeance is the order of the day while many use violence and abusive language to express their feeling of anger; others indulge in malice and payback.

Unfortunately for many, these ways of revenge have not helped individuals and the society; rather they have  brought pains and sorrow to those involved and even  innocent ones. But how long shall we continue in this?

Although most of the disciples Christ loved betrayed him, He still loved them to the end. We are able to love those who wronged us because Jesus has already reconciled us to God and each other by giving Himself as self-sacrifice. We can prove this love to God and mankind by doing likewise.

For me, the spiritual message of Easter is one of reconciliation, not just between us and our Creator, but also between others and ourselves. It means accepting others and being accepted as you are, fully and totally, both by the Creator and others.

The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ would have been in vain, both to Him and mankind if He did not pray the Father to forgive His persecutors.

This symbolic act teaches that man should always forgive his offenders. So, forgiveness is the heart of reconciliation and at the heart of our Christian faith and God’s love makes forgiveness possible.

More so, the Church was born through God’s willingness to seek reconciliation with man through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and so Churches can still play their role in reconciling the country, despite the continued threats and political tension that had decimated the populace.

To do this, we must become agents of God’s love in helping people to acknowledge the wrongs of the past, to accept shared responsibility and to work out a mutual understanding of a common future.

God wants peace and we must therefore eschew animosity, envy, litigation and other unproductive attitudes that do not help our own and national development.

Christians must, therefore, treasure the death of Christ and change to leading worthy lives for the development of their families, communities and the country.