Sunday, June 15, 2014

Free Will and Following the Good Thief's Witness

"There are two classes of people in the world: the saved and the lost. Both have the same opportunity to choose Christ or reject Him. These two criminals represent all human beings, all having the same choice. The one who rejected Christ cursed Him while the other confessed Him. The latter knew he deserved death, but in his own weakness he exhibited the faith to believe that Jesus Christ was indeed the Savior of the World"

       By God's grace, we are given the gift of free will.  We can either choose, like the good thief, to accept the love of God and humbly devote ourselves to Christ in faith, or we can be enveloped in the world and our own hubris, mockingly looking upon the cross not as the greatest act of love for us.  Unfortunately, the Pharisees and Sadducees, the other crucified thief, and the jeering crowd saw Jesus on the cross as a Roman execution representing weakness and failure. God, however, loves us so much that He will not force our hands in faith, for we must abandon our arrogance and pride and choose to follow Jesus Christ as the good thief did.  Amidst our suffering and doubt, in the throes of despair and worry, we are all called to follow the good thief in our faith and witness.  True, loving faith and witness, moreover, lead to the path of eternal life in Christ.

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