"one life to live"
"If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if one should rise from the dead." —Luke 16:31
We can choose to go to hell. Each one of us was born with a warped, fallen nature. We possess a hard heart, "tortuous" and "beyond remedy" (Jer 17:9). We can be so hard-hearted that we are like a barren desert or a lava waste (Jer 17:6). We can be so thick-headed that someone rising from a casket doesn't even make an impression on us (Lk 16:31).
"Who can free" us from such a wretched state? (Rm 7:24) Jesus alone can probe our warped minds and hardened hearts (Jer 17:10). If we ask Him, Jesus will remove our old, hardened heart and give us a new, natural heart (Ez 36:26).
This is a critical, eternal, life-changing matter. If we choose to keep Jesus away from our heart, we'll probably also keep Him away from us forever in the isolation of hell. If we beg Jesus to take over our heart and our life, we'll thank Him forever for the privilege of spending eternity with Him in the ecstasy of heaven.
This life is the only opportunity you have to make this great choice. Don't trust in yourself but trust only in the Lord (Jer 17:7). Put your heart and your life in His hands now.
Prayer: Jesus, save me. I put all my hope in You (Jer 17:7). Never let me be parted from You.
Promise: "Happy the man who...delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on His law day and night." —Ps 1:1, 2
Praise: St. John so identified with the lowly that he described himself as "unworthy to eat the bread of the poor."
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, July 29, 2011
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