Both men received the same sentence,
\nBoth would serve the same penalty,
\nOne man would live in paradise,
\nThe other too blinded to see.<\/p>\n
One\u2019s heart was stonily calloused,
\nHis sins he refused to see,
\nThe other fully acknowledging,
\nWhy he\u2019d been led to Mt. Calvary<\/p>\n
Dragging their crosses behind them,
\nGave them time to reflect on their deeds,
\nOne man defiant and hostile,
\nThe other aware of his needs.<\/p>\n
But along with the two walked another,
\nSentenced to die that same day,
\nWhat did he do to justify,
\nThem treating Him in the same way?<\/p>\n
When they\u2019d reached the place called Golgotha,
\nOne thief could no longer pretend,
\nAs their bodies were raised on the crosses,
\nIt was certain his life would soon end.<\/p>\n
Both men had heard the stories,
\nOf this carpenter from Galilee,
\nWho raised the dead, gave sight to the blind,
\nAnd taught of God\u2019s great mystery.<\/p>\n
In one it stirred up a yearning,
\nOf hope that endures past the grave,
\nThe other found only anger,
\nAnd a feeling of being betrayed.<\/p>\n
One man joined in the mocking,
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re God come and set us free!\u201d
\nThe other studied His countenance,
\nHis poise and His calm dignity.<\/p>\n
In the midst of the hatred and taunting,
\nJesus spoke words beyond all belief,
\n\u201cFather please forgive them,\u201d
\nNot in anger but chocking back grief.<\/p>\n
At the words one man\u2019s heart had melted,
\nThe other stayed hardened as stone,
\nOne entered in eyes wide open,
\nThe other in darkness alone.<\/p>\n
The words gave one man confidence,
\nTo ask of Him one grand request,
\n\u201cLord remember me in your kingdom,\u201d
\n\u201cI am weary and need peace and rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the midst of the pain and anquish,
\nWhile suffering for all of our vice,
\nWith a look of love, He said to the thief,
\n\u201cToday you will see paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Both men received the same sentence, Both would serve the same penalty, One man would live in paradise, The other too blinded to see. One\u2019s heart was stonily calloused, His sins he refused to see, The other fully acknowledging, Why he\u2019d been led to Mt. Calvary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7f2Ml-e","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18,"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14\/revisions\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allhis.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}