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Text Box: DO NOT RELY ON YOUR ACCEPTING THE LAST DEATH BED OPPORTUNITY TO REPENT We all desire to be in Heaven with Christ when we die. And we all know how undeserving of this we actually are. So each of us has the hope that we will be like Saint Dismas, the Good Thief, and steal Heaven. Not that we will put Heaven into our pocket and take it away, but that we will get in un-noticed, so that once in and eventually noticed God will say that since we are already in, we can stay. But that is not how the Good Thief attained Heaven. He attained Heaven by boldly acknowledging his unworthiness, and boldly acknowledging Christ as being totally worthy; then asking Jesus Christ God that he not be forgotten. In asking Christ that he not be forgotten, the Good Thief was saying: Yes, I have done great wrongs and deserve this punishment I am receiving. But I have also done good things and I have done them for the sake of goodness, for the sake of You God, who are hanging crucified next to me. He was saying: I only comprehend a little of why it is that you are being crucified next to me. I fully understand why I am being crucified, for it is the just punishment for my crimes, my sins. But you are without sin and therefore have never committed a crime. He was saying: I have seen you about the country and in many towns and cities, even here in Jerusalem, and I know you are God. But I can not comprehend that you, God, who has taken on the flesh of a man, should die and that your death should be that of a criminal, unless it is that you have taken my place as a criminal before God your Father and are taking on the punishment of my sins. In this the Good Thief realized some of the extent and fullness of Divine Love, and that realization lead him to leap into Faith which gave him something he

Text Box: never had experienced before - Hope. In that leap of Faith into Hope, he then asked of Christ the most fantastic request: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. He knew, in that instant He actually knew, why Christ had come into this world. He knew that Christ was suffering and dying for the sins he a thief had committed, and for the sins of all of mankind. He had accepted the Grace God had given to him at the time of his death and he acted upon that Grace, asking Christ to fulfill in him, the thief, all that for which Christ had suffered. And Christ told him that his request would be granted; that after they both died that day, he, the sinner, would be with Him, Jesus Christ God, in Paradise for all eternity. Yes, we all want to attain Heaven. But we must remember there was another thief crucified with Christ. He also was sent the Grace for repentance and redemption just like the Good Thief. But the other thief apparently rejected that Grace, for he mocked and cursed Jesus and did not voice or give any sign of acknowledgment of his own sinfulness, nor of repentance. The Good Thief had lead a life which gave him the predisposition or inclination to not sin even though he did sin. But the other thief had lead a life which did not give him this predisposition or inclination. It appears the other thief lead a life in which God was not a significant factor, while God was a significant factor in the life of the Good Thief. So the other thief rejected God even at the last opportunity for salvation, but the Good Thief accepted God. Do not rely on being a Good Thief, for it was a “touch and go” or borderline situation for the Good Thief. What if he had been crucified the day before or the day after Christ was crucified? The situation would have been different, and he would not have had the physical presence of Christ to reinforce his

Text Box: knowledge of Christ’s goodness and the acknowledgment of his own sinfulness. He would not have had Christ’s presence to make him wonder and mentally inquire and explore why Christ was suffering just as he was suffering. And he might have rejected that special grace and with that rejection, rejected the title of The Good Thief. Think of the Good Thief as an example of last resort. And example of that for which you hope if all else should fail - which means an example of that for which you hope if you should miserably fail. But do not rely on being another Good Thief. Rely on your becoming and being good. This is the sure way and the best way, for it is the way Christ taught and the way He wants us to follow. It is the Way of the Cross. Ref: Is. 59:1-4; Luke 23:39-43 +

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