“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.” (Luke 18:13)
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.” (Luke 23:34)
Only someone who has been shown by the Lord the depth of their rebellious nature, their sin against the Lord can say what that man said at the wall that day, only One, the Lord Jesus Christ, could understand the wrath of God that awaits those who deny Him as Lord who count His sacrifice as a lite thing. “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53:10)
Love calls us to repent, to call upon Jesus Christ as the only means to the salvation of our souls, wrath, eternal fire, suffering and torment awaits all who will not, and that is just.
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm 136:1)
The few that have found those words to be true will be, literally, eternally grateful, they have been blessed to be able to comprehend the Sovereignty of the Most High, they know His words to be true, and they, we, will know peace forevermore. Those who reject Him as who He is, Lord and Creator of all that is, will not, they will never know peace, they will suffer in every imaginable way for all eternity.
We will enter into His rest, they will never know rest.
It matters very little to whom you are speaking with when you come to this realization, whether it be a beloved family member, a stranger on the street, or someone online in any social media site where comments are permitted, when you realize these truths, they must be revealed to them.
This of course is merely conjecture, but when the Lord said those words on the cross, “Father, forgive them,” I believe at that moment the Almighty was prepared to simply exterminate all life on this planet, perhaps everything everywhere that He had created. His Son is worth more than all the reality that He has brought forth, more than the souls in hell, more than all that reside in heaven, more than the angels, cherubim, more than you and me. “Father, forgive them” came from the depth of love, the place where love resides.
We are indeed wretched creatures.
Those of you who have forgotten this great price that was paid for you need to remember it frequently, you need to imagine yourself on that day looking up at His face when He says those words, while He is looking directly at you. And then you need to stop trying to be better, you need to stop attempting to perform works to prove your life. The desire to serve, to be pleasing in the sight of God, must always be followed by patient anticipation, waiting to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice informing you of what is next, what He would have you to do.
“Help me to hear your voice,” is a good prayer to repeat regularly.
Those who would serve for the glory of God will be taught how to hear, they will be instructed on the path, they are to live by faith. The foundation is love, the love that we know that the Lord has for us, not our love for Him. It is the exact opposite of what many have come to believe, and while it is true that we love Him, 1 John 4:19 stands as the greater truth, “We love him, because he first loved us.”
You are going to have another opportunity today, tomorrow and the day after that, in fact every day you are going to have an opportunity to stand before the precipice of hell and warn another soul who is heading in that direction. Do so with their eternal soul in mind, for the glory of God, and your love, the love of Christ that resides within you, will be revealed to them.
