Good Friday, A Day for Deep Reflection — and Planning

Today, Good Friday marks one of the most momentous days in human history. It commemorates the day on which Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of Almighty God, was crucified on the Cross at Calvary in Jerusalem for the sins of humankind. 

He had been born for this purpose. His mother Mary was a virgin, chosen to give birth to the Savior of the world.  She is known throughout history as the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus.  She had been betrothed to a young carpenter named Joseph.  But then suddenly Gabriel, the Lord’s Angel, appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him not to worry because his wife-to-be had been visited by the Holy Spirit, who had caused her to conceive.  She would bear a Son named Jesus, and He would be the Savior of the World. 

There had been for a long time a separation between God and man.  This separation started centuries earlier, when Adam and Eve, humankind’s first parents, had been thrown by God out of the Garden of Eden in which the Almighty had granted them permission to eat anything except the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, which they were forbidden to eat.  It was called “the forbidden fruit.”

Then came along Satan, who tempted Eve, Adam’s wife, by telling her that God knew that if they ate of that fruit, they would become as wise as God.  Eve yielded to Satan’s temptation, ate the fruit, then went on to tempt her husband Adam, who also yielded.   

God got angry with Adam and came into the garden to find Adam hiding, and told God that he (Adam) was naked.  “Who told you you were naked?” God asked. “Have you eaten the fruit I told you not to eat?”

In furious anger, God threw Adam and his wife Eve out of the garden and told Adam, “From this day forward, from the sweat of thy brow (forehead) shall thou eat bread.” 

That began human suffering and hard labor. 

This continued for a long time until one day God, in His infinite goodness and mercy, had compassion on the human race and sent Jesus, through his virgin mother Mary, to save humankind from their sins.

But human beings, in their depravity (evil, wickedness), turned against Jesus, the Savior of the world, and crucified (killed) him on the cross at Calvary.

It is that day — today — that is called Good Friday.  Why “Good”? Perhaps because it was on that day that the good Lord attempted to put an end to human depravity (corruption, evil, wickedness) by giving human beings a second chance.  In so doing, God sent his only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and show us the way to salvation.

On this day, Good Friday, churches throughout the world gather to commemorate the crucifixion of Christ.

In the old days in Monrovia, children observed the day by dressing up a Judas-like figure and paraded him throughout the streets beating him, “for betraying Christ”. Since we all human beings are guilty of sins, the sins that Jesus died to redeem us from, we think the most appropriate thing for us to do today is what Christians throughout the world are doing — gathering in our places of worship to observe the day through fasting and the worship of our beloved Savior and His Heavenly Father, who gave him to us as a propitiation (conciliation) for sins.

We should also use this day to pray for ourselves and one another and for people throughout the world who are suffering from one kind of evil or another.  Let us remember today the people of Ukraine, many of whom are fleeing the calamity (catastrophe), caused by the invasion of their innocent country by the sick and wicked Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

Let us also remember all of our own people in this beleaguered (longsuffering) country of ours, Liberia.  Let us pray that the good Lord will deliver us from ourselves — our wickedness to one another and our failure to take utmost   advantage of all the riches that God has bestowed upon us.  Liberia has great potential — this rich and beautiful land, with hundreds of thousands of green acreage that can help to feed the world; 350 miles of coastland with beautiful beaches — in Monrovia, Buchanan, Edina, River Cess, Robertsport, Lake Piso, Greenville, Harper, Nana Kru, Sasstown, Grand Cess.

The Government, through the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) and the National Investment Commission (NIC), etc., should visit all these places and develop the tourism potential in them and invest to turn them into tourism paradises. 

What are we waiting for to turn Liberia into one of the most visited places on earth?  We have all the potential!  Let us start developing and utilizing them!