As Christians in Gombe State join millions around the world to mark Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday or the Friday of the Passion, Reverend Isaac Kindikah of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria delivered a powerful message urging believers to embrace endurance and follow the path of Jesus Christ.
Speaking to Voice of Nigeria after the Good Friday service, Reverend Kindikah reminded Christians that while the day commemorates the suffering, sorrow, and pain Christ endured, it is called “Good Friday” because of its profound and lasting impact on humanity.
He encouraged believers to stay true to righteousness even when faced with hardship, emphasising that lasting glory comes through endurance, not shortcuts.
“It is proper for us to follow the right path to obtain true glory—just as the cross has brought us eternal glory,” Reverend Kindikha said.
“It is proper for us to follow the proper channel to obtain glory because that is the glory that lasts. Just as the glory that the cross has won for us. Most often, we tend to neglect the part of the suffering on the cross.
Most often, we publicise the glory. Some have taken it upon themselves that they cannot suffer as Christians and they get entangled in some dubious acts.
Some engage themselves in internet fraud and other things in order to experience glory. However, I think the glory in the cross is a pure and righteous glory. So, if we are going to experience the glory of the cross, then it must be a pure glory. If we must earn a good life, we must earn it through a good means,” said Rev. Kindikha.
He further explained that true greatness often lies beneath trials and challenges, stressing that nothing worthwhile comes without sacrifice.
Reverend Kindikha vividly described the extent of Christ’s suffering: being betrayed, arrested like a criminal, abandoned by his people, falsely accused, flogged, mocked, and crucified, despite being blameless.
“He was humiliated, spat on, made to wear a crown of thorns, forced to carry a heavy wooden cross, and finally nailed to it. Yet He endured it all, for the salvation of mankind. And in the end, He was glorified and became the exalted Saviour who takes away the sins of the world,” Rev. Kindikha said.
The cleric reflected on the irony of Christ being stripped of His garments, then clothed in a purple robe and mocked with false worship. But even in that moment, he said, God’s plan was unfolding.
“They knelt before Him in mockery, not realizing they were fulfilling prophecy, that Christ would indeed be worshipped. After His death, even the soldiers declared, ‘Truly, this was the Son of God,’ when darkness covered the earth, the ground shook, and graves were opened,” emphasised Rev. Kindikha.
He said that suffering and glory go hand-in-hand in the Christian journey, calling on believers to open their spiritual eyes and reflect deeply on the hidden glory that follows faithful perseverance.
He said many wear black on Good Friday as a sign of mourning, yet we call it ‘Good’, that’s the mystery of the Cross. It reminds us that even in suffering, there is purpose, and in sacrifice, there is salvation.
Lateefah Ibrahim
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