Blessed are they ...
Two very moving stories:
#1 - An illegal immigrant who gave up his long walk into the U.S. to help a boy whose mother was killed in a van crash in the desert said Wednesday that he never thought of leaving the child. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22013748/?gt1=10547)
#2 - Liviu Librescu survived the Nazi Holocaust. He died trying to keep a gunman from shooting his students in a killing spree at Virginia Tech _ a heroic feat later recounted in e-mails from students to his wife. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/17/AR2007041701224.html
I read both and immediately started thinking what great Christians these two people are ... I have no idea whether they ever uttered the words "I am saved", or were baptized or whatever. Nor am I even worthy to even contemplate how God will judge them.
But, I do believe that Jesus was at work in both examples ... how can you not read these and say that this is not the work of the Holy Spirit? When I read the Bible and it says "I am the Way", what I interpret is Jesus is telling us that follow this path with all your heart and you can be comforted that at judgment good things will happen. But, who are we to say that in God's grace and love that others may not enter the Kingdom? Who are we to even pretend to be as wise as the Creator?
This is why I embrace Orthodox thinking ... humility, trust and prayer. There's no guarantees and much is left to Mystery and the humble conclusion that we simply don't know God's plans.
Let's all pray for Professor Liviu Librescu and Manuel Jesus Cordova Soberanes, and learn to be better Christians ourselves from their selfless acts of love.
#1 - An illegal immigrant who gave up his long walk into the U.S. to help a boy whose mother was killed in a van crash in the desert said Wednesday that he never thought of leaving the child. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22013748/?gt1=10547)
#2 - Liviu Librescu survived the Nazi Holocaust. He died trying to keep a gunman from shooting his students in a killing spree at Virginia Tech _ a heroic feat later recounted in e-mails from students to his wife. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/17/AR2007041701224.html
I read both and immediately started thinking what great Christians these two people are ... I have no idea whether they ever uttered the words "I am saved", or were baptized or whatever. Nor am I even worthy to even contemplate how God will judge them.
But, I do believe that Jesus was at work in both examples ... how can you not read these and say that this is not the work of the Holy Spirit? When I read the Bible and it says "I am the Way", what I interpret is Jesus is telling us that follow this path with all your heart and you can be comforted that at judgment good things will happen. But, who are we to say that in God's grace and love that others may not enter the Kingdom? Who are we to even pretend to be as wise as the Creator?
This is why I embrace Orthodox thinking ... humility, trust and prayer. There's no guarantees and much is left to Mystery and the humble conclusion that we simply don't know God's plans.
Let's all pray for Professor Liviu Librescu and Manuel Jesus Cordova Soberanes, and learn to be better Christians ourselves from their selfless acts of love.
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