what would you do?

indeed, a man's behaviour in his final moments does say a substantial amount about the person; how he lived his life and where his beliefs and loyalties lay.

Jesus had two "sinners" being crucified with him. These two represented the two extremes of our faith, which i believe still applies to all of us at present, even though this happening occured thousands of years ago.

the first extreme represented the people of shallow faith, or no faith at all. in his dying moments, he did not seek repentance for his wrongdoings, instead taunting Jesus along with the crowd.

you might be laughing at this person's "stupidity" as you read the Bible, but have you ever faced such a situation? substantial amounts of messages often escape the scope of our realization when we read the Bible; the result of our carefree, comfortable lives. how could you think in line with someone in his dying moments when you are resting comfortably upon the sofa? anyone would think that this man's behaviour in his dying moments was ridiculous. something you wouldnt even think of doing in your dying moments? that is where most people go wrong. no one really knows how one would behave in his/her dying moments, until one is faced with the situation itself.

the second extreme is the perfect example of true faith. what you would call a "model answer". but in fact, it is not easy for us to attain this level of faith, of spirituality. this man had never come in contact with God in his life, which he lived sinfully. but are we able to be like him? he put down everything in his life when he came in contact with Jesus. he believed, right when his chance came. now, how many times have we let go of the opportunities to bring anyone to God? for all you know, a slight notion of our faith may just be the thing that pushes him towards God. so never give up on every opportunity to spread the word.

these two people were being crucified based on their crimes; murder, theft, robbery and such. but Jesus did not care. to the "sinner" he said, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

one word of warning. this does not mean that we should just let go of our morals and repent in the last moments. that, in itself, is an act of foolery.

be smart, live right.