I recently counseled someone who was making quite a few folks mad with some rash careless statements. I mentioned that God created us to have two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. When God sat down at His easel to design us He could have just as easily designed us to have one eye, one ear, and one mouth, but He didn’t.
Is there significance to this?
Hmmm…Maybe God was trying to tell us something. Do you suppose He wanted to emphasize that we should look and listen four times as much as we talk?
(2 ears + 2 eyes = 4)
I also noticed that our brains are located much closer to our eyes and ears than our mouths. Could it be that is a sign that we should look, listen, and think prior to talking? Warm up brain before engaging mouth?
Maybe that is all coincidence but it is fun to think about it, at least for an insomniac like me at 3:00 a.m. I think God has a sense of humor and it’s kind of fun to look for it.
There are many subtleties in the Bible that seem to be more than coincidence to me. For example Jesus was crucified on Golgotha with two criminals. Why wasn’t Jesus crucified alone? He could have just as easily been crucified alone or with one other fellow, or with four. Why three?
Hmmm…One of the criminals rejected Jesus and taunted and scoffed at Him saying, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself–and us, too, while you’re at it!”
The other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” and then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom”.
Jesus looked at him and said, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise”.
To me this is a clear picture of our world. Some reject Jesus as being the Messiah and others accept Him as being their Savior. Jesus assures those who confess their sins, repent, and have faith in Christ, (as this fellow did), that they will enter paradise. Those who reject Him will enter hell.
It is interesting to note that Jesus immediately said, “TODAY you will be with me in paradise”. He didn’t require the criminal to say 15 Hail Mary’s, get a perfect attendance record in Sunday school, be given Last Rites by a priest, be a really good person loved by children and respected by intelligent men and women, or anything else. That is because it is what JESUS did on the cross that enables us sinners to enter heaven (“lest anyone should boast”). Our faith in Him coupled with confession and repentance is all that is required. It is our perfect example, indeed our monument to divine mercy.
Contrast his good fortune with the terrible fate of the other thief, who died hardened in unbelief, even though a crucified Savior was right next to him. He will regret his mistake for eternity.
We were created to live forever. We will spend eternity in heaven or hell and the choice is ours. We can accept Jesus as our Savior and enter paradise or reject Him and enter hell.
One final piece of imagery we are given is that the criminal who asked Jesus to remember him did so by publically declaring his faith in Jesus. He didn’t hide it, or quietly whisper it so only Jesus could hear. He spoke boldly and loudly enough to startle a centurion.
Matt. 7:13
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.”