P.O. Box 682

West Chester, Pennsylvania  19381

Phone: 610-383-7097
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Words of Wisdom

by Pastor Michael T. Keenan

December 2007

A Wonderful Yet Sad Story

Luke 23:32-43

Luke 23:32-43 is the Bible accord of the dying thief trusting Christ as his personal Saviour just hours before stepping out into eternity.  The life of a criminal is a sad, hard and an empty life, no matter how the world may glamorize such folks.  The thief died in shame and pain.  But of course we preach the Wonderful Grace of God and the sweet Holy Ghost dealing with the thief and he's wondrously saved.  Praise the Lord!  Yet its also a sad story because:

  1. The Thief never had a chance to make it right at with his Family.  We know he had to have a Mom and Dad, maybe Brothers and sisters, Wife and children?  Think of all the pain and suffering he had put his family through.  The thief is now in Paradise.  But he never had a chance to go Home and tell his family what the Lord had done for him, and witness to them of His Saving Power.

How sad today, many saved folds so caught up in "earning a living" or chasing after Worldly Pleasures leave their families without the solid godly Christian leadership so necessary in this dark day we live in.  Wondrously Saved yet a sad story also.

  1. The Thief never had a chance to make it right with his friends.  How many folks had he been a bad influence on, perhaps the other thief on the cross started a life of crime because of his influences.  It is also sad today how many saved folks are strangely quiet when it comes to witnessing to friends and neighbors.  Folks lost, without hope and yet we can't throw out the life line of the gospel that they might be saved.  We're Wondrously saved, yet how sad we don't witness with a burden for sinners.
  1. The Thief never had a chance to serve the Lord.  Praise the Lord He was saved from hell - home in heaven.  But never had a chance to do anything in the Service of the King.  Sad Today, How many churches fill pews Sunday morning but no servants for the ministries that are sadly lacking due to a lack of dedicated servants.  There's so much to do, we need to rededicate and reload in our dedication to the Service of God.

It's Wonderful that you got saved.  But don't let the rest of your life be a sad story of just living for yourself and not the Lord who saved you.