(By Alex Uzoigwe)

      Moved by the economic hardship currently rocking every part of the country, the Bishop on the Niger, Anglican Communion, Anambra State, the Rt Rev Dr. Owen Nwokolo, has in his 2024 Easter Message encouraged Nigerians not to be dismayed by the raging state of affairs.

       Among other things, he expounded on the phenomenon of Easter, underscoring its cardinal spiritual significance.

        The excerpts:

We thank God, for we are once again celebrating Easter. As we celebrate Easter today, the Lord reminds us of the significance of His love for mankind.

        Easter is not just a commemoration, it is a declaration of Christ’s victory and the demonstration of His power over the physical forces of the earth. Easter is the manifestation of God’s power over forces of nature, and the empty tomb, the symbol of that victory over pains, over darkness, and over any other thing that holds man down here. Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead and that exactly is what that victory grants humanity.

            In a world filled with desperations, with various challenges: loss of hope, disappointments, failure, and all kinds of anguish, Easter brings us focus on God’s love and victory, convincing us that despite the yokes and challenges that we daily face, with the victory which Christ had over death, we can overcome.

         Also, Easter speaks about the transformative power of love. Love overcomes. Love brings forgiveness which is very, very indispensable in this world. It brings reconciliation, uniting people who had long been divided. Through Easter, Jesus made it possible that people who had long been divided could be united, that families could be united, and that the otherwise turned apart world could be united. This is because love covers a multitude of sins.

        So, as we celebrate Easter this year, remembering its two cardinal significances that through Christ’s Resurrection He overcame the powers that can control man and that He also empowered us with love, may we, as believers, therefore go into the world hopeful of a better tomorrow. Let us live our lives with the hope that whatever challenges that lie ahead of us must be overcome, especially in our present Nigeria where our economy continues to worsen.

          Although the worsening economy is a global phenomenon, not only in Nigeria, its threatening presence ought not to dampen the spirit of those who work by faith. As you work by faith and believe in the power of Jesus that engendered the power of Resurrection, you will surely overcome financial challenges, you will overcome economic problems, and you will overcome other problems and challenges of this life.

         As human beings who have people, you interact with as business associates, schoolmates, and others from whom disappointments often come, with this divine relationship of love and brotherliness that Easter brings to us, may good relationships proceed from you and spread like a sweet-smelling savor to draw others to our faith in Christ Jesus.

          Above all, learn to demonstrate the love which Christ showed us by dying and resurrecting. It will bring you life and those around you. The Easter is for us to celebrate. It is for us to rejoice.

        I wish you all a very happy Easter celebration of God’s love and victory over situations and circumstances. Our prayer is that may God Almighty who holds the whole world in His hands and who has the power to give victory, grant you victory, may He lift you high, may He promote you, and may you have new life and new hope of a better tomorrow.

In the name of God, the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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