By Sandra Umeh
Lagos – As Christians all over the world commemorated the Good Friday solemnity in Churches, some Lagos-based lawyers on Friday urged Christians to imbibe the virtues of forgiveness and sacrifice.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Good Friday is a day in the Holy Week in the Catholic Church Calendar, which marked the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
It is a day of fasting, prayers, abstinence and for Catholics, it is a day to abstain from meat and other pleasurable routine, since Jesus Christ gave up his life for the world on this day.
In her Good Friday message, a Lagos-based lawyer, Mrs Joyce Oduah, urged Christians to imbibe the virtue of forgiveness as exemplified by Christ.
“On this day, the wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations as God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
“Good Friday is a day for sober reflection. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus Christ willingly took our punishment; the result of God’s righteousness against sin.
“Paradoxically, Good Friday signifies the greatest triumph over evil and God’s plan to release the world from oppression. May this Good Friday fill our lives with the love and forgiveness,” she said
Oduah also urged all to stay safe and observe all safety precautions following the COVID-19 pandemic.
On his part, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Babatunde Ajibade, said that although the solemnity of Good Friday was commemorated under strange circumstances this year, yet, we must all remain steadfast.
Ajibade said: “This year, we are not able to gather in Churches to mark the hour when our Lord Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross at Calvary.
“For the Christian faithful amongst us, this is quite symbolic and is one of the far-reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The question that comes to my mind is, what kind of persons will we be at the end of this pandemic?
“As we move from the pain of Christ’s crucifixion to the joy of His resurrection, will we come out refreshed and renewed?”
He urged Christians to use the opportunity to press their individual “reset buttons” and place themselves in a position to live a better life than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
(NAN)