“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10: 10b
As the whole world battles with COVID-19 pandemic and as the country faces its fair share of hardships, killings in the Province of Negros Oriental are on the rise again in the midst of hunger and of threat to life. Seven Negrenses lost their lives within nine days in May of this year. So too did we lose many a life the previous year: doctor, lawyers, police officers, teacher, farmer, civil servants, fathers, sons, daughter, sister, and brothers in what seems to be senseless destruction of human life. These acts of violence disturb our sense of what is fundamentally Christian.
We cannot claim to value life if we condone these unlawful deaths. We cannot claim to be grateful for this gift of life if we refuse to hold accountable those responsible. We cannot claim to value the sacredness of life if we do not fight for another’s right to live. We cannot claim to follow Christ if we turn a blind eye to everything that undermines what our Lord has built and died for. These acts have no place in a society that worship a loving, living God. Thus, we call on the Provincial Government, local authorities, and the police to mirror Christ in the conduct of their duties and uphold what is fair and just. We call on as well the people of Negros Oriental to recommit themselves to upholding life at all times. As we face a most defining crisis in humanity, a crisis that some say brings out the worst in us, the most loving and Christ-like act is to value and protect each other, after all the greatest lover of humanity has given nothing short of His own life so everyone may live.
