I've been thinking recently, why do people want to become monks?

Let's also ask ourselves seriously: If this is my last day in this world, what will I do? Some people may say disapprovingly that this question is meaningless and completely hypothetical. In fact, we all know that although this is a hypothetical problem, it is a problem that every one of us will definitely encounter.

Throughout history, there have been many unexpected accidents and disasters: like the accidental sinking of the Titanic giant cruise ship, thousands of people sank to the bottom of the sea and died within a few hours; Another example is coal mine gas explosion and mine collapse. Some miners are isolated in deep tunnels, and maybe people will never find them again, or they will be buried because they collapsed again during excavation and rescue. Another example is that there is a fire somewhere, someone is surrounded by fire and can't escape, and life may only last a few minutes, …

Life is often so fragile because of unexpected events and human encounters. Sudden stroke and heart disease; Traffic accidents, or flight disasters; Or wars, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and other natural and man-made disasters, countless people die every day from these unexpected accidents. For people, the day when these things happen to them is the last day of their lives, but they just didn't know it before. Besides, everyone will have the last day of illness and death, and everyone will encounter this problem sooner or later, so the sooner you think about it, the better, and the later the safer.

Don't lose confidence and despair.

If this is your last day, or the last few days, or the last few minutes, what will you do? Maybe someone will be disappointed and say: I have been mediocre in my life, with no achievements and nothing to offer; Or feel that although I have achieved something in my career, I am far away from the true god in my heart; Or think that you have hurt others and done things that hurt others, and there are many sins in your heart; Or feel dark, melancholy, uncertain, even horrible and desperate about the future, thinking: What else can I do?

But please don't be pessimistic and desperate, and don't give up on yourself, because you don't know how much God, the father who created everything in the universe, and our savior Jesus love each of us sinners. Look at the robber on the cross, because he seized the last chance before he died, repented and called on the name of the Lord, who promised him to enter the paradise in heaven and be with the Lord Jesus forever.

Ten robbers confessed before they died.

Before he died, the robber was deeply moved by Christ's infinite love for his enemies and sinners. He saw Roman soldiers cruelly crucify the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus. Although the Lord Jesus was in great pain, he loved his enemies and prayed for those who crucified him, "Father, forgive them, because they don't know what they have done." His mind was suddenly lit up: since the Lord Jesus is willing to forgive those enemies who killed him, won't he forgive me as a sinner?

The robber was moved by God's love, and he deeply regretted the crimes he had committed in his life. He regretted that he woke up too late and had no chance to turn over a new leaf. But he still longed for the Lord Jesus to forgive the sins he had committed in his life, to purify and renew his heart, so that he could always follow the loving savior Jesus in the eternal kingdom of heaven. So he pleaded, "Jesus, please remember me when your kingdom comes." Jesus said to him, truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. (Road 23: 39-43. According to the punctuation and true meaning of the original text, "today" should be placed before "I tell you the truth". )。 Heaven is the holy city in heaven, new Jerusalem, and Kyoto in the future kingdom of heaven. (see Rev.1:7; 22: 1-2; After the forest 1-4)

This fact can enlighten us greatly: since the Lord Jesus is willing to forgive the robber who repented before he died on the cross, isn't he also willing to forgive our sins? In fact, the heavenly father loves us so much! In order to save us, the Lord Jesus did not hesitate to become human beings for us, to show us God's love, to spread the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, and to leave a perfect example of life. Finally, he gave his life for us with his holy and innocent life on the cross. The Lord Jesus longs to forgive us all our sins at once, to clean, renew and regenerate our hearts, so that we can become children loved by God and accept the promise of eternal life given to us by the Lord.

What should we do?

So, if today is the last day of your life, or the last moment, how are you going to spend it?

Obviously, if we have not repented and believed in the Lord, we should immediately confess our sins and repent and turn to Christ. Maybe we are in trouble, facing all kinds of difficulties and persecution, but this is the main way to save our spiritual life. If we have been in a peaceful and smooth environment, maybe we will never repent or believe in the Lord, so suffering is often a precious gift from the Lord.

Even if we think we have believed in Jesus, we should look at ourselves first. Do we really repent and believe in the Lord and be saved by grace? Have the sins in our lives been washed away by the blood of the Lord, and have our hearts been washed, renewed and reborn by the Holy Spirit of the Lord? The Lord Jesus said: If a man is not born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. If we don't really believe in the Lord and repent, call on the name of the Lord and be reborn by grace, then let us immediately rely on the help of the Lord, confess our sins and repent, and ask the Lord's holy spirit to clean, renew and regenerate our hearts, so that we can get a new spiritual life immediately.

If we have been born again by grace and gained a spiritual life, we must continue to live in the Lord, constantly wash away all our sins with the blood of the Lord, constantly rely on the help of the Holy Spirit of the Lord, pursue complete separation from sin, love the Lord and love others, enthusiastically serve the Lord to do good, preach salvation, and lead more people to repent and believe in the Lord and be saved by the Lord forever. As for our personal life and death, we fully believe in obedience to the Lord. Because the Lord loves every child of God very much, he has the best will and guidance for each of us. As the Bible says, everything is for the benefit of those who love God. (Rom。 8: 28) Here are two wonderful witnesses:

Firefighters are eager to be rescued.

An excellent firefighter once went into the ground floor of a smoke-filled building with an oxygen mask to put out the fire while performing a fire-fighting task. After a period of intense work, the oxygen cylinder issued an alarm, suggesting that there are still about ten minutes left, and the oxygen will be used up. At first, he was calm. Although there was a sea of fire around him, he was confident that he could go out soon, so he continued to put out some fires. However, when he was about to leave the scene, he walked around unexpectedly, hitting a wall everywhere, encountering obstacles and finding his way. Just then, the oxygen bottle alarm sounded again for the second time, which means that the oxygen will be used up in just two or three minutes. So he suddenly became nervous and stepped up. Although he tried to find an exit, he bumped around and still couldn't find a way out. He felt very anxious as the time approached. I'm afraid he will really die in the fire this time. In all kinds of crises, he suddenly remembered God, because when he was studying at school, he believed in the Lord enthusiastically, and then he gradually left the Lord after entering the society. He suddenly felt guilty. In times of crisis, he cried out to God, earnestly confessed and repented, and asked the Lord to forgive his sins and help him out of danger. He swore to the Lord that if he was out of danger, he would testify for the Lord again and never leave the Lord again. When he prayed like this, something wonderful happened. God's inspiration moved him and told him to go straight ahead. When he walked to the wall, he suddenly saw a flashlight flashing in the distance, which made him clearly see that this was a passage. So he took a last breath, dropped his oxygen bottle and mask, and rushed forward as fast as he could, thus escaping safely. Since then, he has never left the Lord. He has always been a witness of the Lord's enthusiasm and is everywhere.