In your Good Friday editorial, you noted the many benefits of considering the "holy part of the holiday" - of setting our minds on those things that are more than just satisfying our material or emotional needs.
I would offer an alternative to one aspect of that editorial. You stated that "religions at their core were formed to unite cultures and societies with common morals and beliefs." The religion that celebrates Good Friday presents a much more compelling option.
Christianity presents existence as having meaning and purpose. We are not here by accident, but rather are the children of a loving Creator who made us for the joy of having a relationship with us. One of His many gifts was free will - the power to choose to return His love.
Christianity presents Good Friday as one of three turning points in history. The first was when we used our free will to "be our own boss" and turn from God in the garden of Eden. The second was Good Friday, when God came to us in human form and "paid our debt" Himself, so that our relationship could be restored. The third is still to come - when God fully restores the face-to-face connection that He intended from the beginning.
Living by a set of rules can improve my life by helping me live more healthily and happily. However, there is so much more - a full relationship with God is available.
It is the living God, not a set of rules, that prompted by wife to leave a career to walk instead with those who are sick and dying - a role with no formal position or pay. That same presence has nudged me into a role teaching at UNBC and work within the health care field to show His light and love to those around me.
Rules are helpful, and have there place. There are higher truths upon which to build a life. But there is so much more available - a relationship with a loving, perfect God who would rather die for us than live apart from us. That is the core meaning of Good Friday.
Charles Scott
Prince George
