Our Christian duty calls us to a higher level of action than the human level. As Children of God and members of His Church by virtue of our baptism, our lives and actions cannot be guided only by the natural human inclinations and tendencies. Having been reborn and claimed for Christ in our baptism, we must realize that we have superseded our natural, biological and physical birth into the world as we have received a spiritual rebirth. We cannot, therefore, afford to live as if we are guided only by the human natural inclination since we have come to know God and we are God’s Children in a special way. As Children of God, we must constantly live our lives as witnesses of His love remembering our baptismal commitment. As Scripture says, for those who believe in His son, He gave power to be called Children of God (Jn. 1: 12).
However, we shall be sons and daughters of God in truth and honesty only if we live lives worthy of the title because as the Scriptures say: ‘by their fruits we shall know them (Matt. 7: 16).’ Our Holy Father, Pope Francis has declared the Jubilee Year of Mercy so as to remind us of our Christian duty of being like God our father who in His mercy makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine upon the good and the bad alike. The jubilee is a call by which God invites us, as His children, to wake up, to our Christian duty in a world that is seeking the face of God. As members of the Archdiocesan Laity, it is important to remember that your unique role in the world has a wider reach than even the pulpit. Your daily interactions with the world as you go to work, at home, recreation grounds, involvement in politics, relationship with your neighbours, are all avenues to show the face of God’s mercy. As much as you are called to dispense and receive justice, you must also allow God’s mercy to find a place in your everyday life.
• Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins is the Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos.
