Easter should renew our lives

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the celebration of Easter across the world.

In Ghana, there will be conventions and other religious and social events in various parts of the country to celebrate this special season mostly revered by Christians.

The story tells us that Easter, the pre-eminent feast that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, has, since the earliest Christian times, focused on the redemptive act of God in the death and resurrection of Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ accentuates the Christian religious belief that after being put to death, He rose again from the dead. It is the central tenet of Christian theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day, He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures".

According to the New Testament, after the Romans had crucified Jesus, His body was anointed and buried in a new tomb by Joseph of Arimathea, but God raised Him from the dead and He appeared to witnesses before He ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God.

Paul the Apostle declared that "Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures".

As simple or repetitive as this story may be, it is imperative to note that each year it resonates well in the minds of Christians, most of whom use it to reflect on their lives and take stock of their years on earth and how they can make things better in the years ahead.

Sampling the views of some selected clergymen in the country, it was clear that Christians seem to be failing the nation, hence the need to reflect and change our ways to make Ghana a better place.

It is evident, and without doubt, that since Christians form the majority in the country, a lot depends on them to ensure that they live Christ-like lives to eschew corruption, the bane of the economy for many years.

To the clergy, Ghanaians need to use the Easter festivities to reflect on the challenges militating against the country’s development, including excessive partisanship, pessimism and corruption and other issues that hinder the country’s development and peaceful co-existence.

The Daily Graphic believes strongly from the Easter story that Christ died with the world’s sin, thereby making the true essence of the Easter celebration the unconditional love of God that He demonstrated for humanity by allowing His only begotten Son to die for the world’s sin.

We are all aware that the country is bleeding profusely from serious acts of indiscipline in all facets of our social life, with characters at all levels of society as culprits. There is poor sanitation, greed, lackadaisical attitude towards work and general apathy in the system.

These do not build a nation and it is also something that Christians believe the Christ they celebrate strongly abhors.

In this period of Easter, we call on Christians to renew their faith, change their style of living and lead the way in a pragmatic manner to overturn the dwindling fortunes of the country.

It can only take renewed hearts, minds and thoughts to get Ghana back on track and even actualise the pledge of the President, who wants to see a Ghana beyond aid.