He was born into wealth and raised in a mansion. Yet he traded in his stylish clothes for dull prison gray after being convicted of planting a car bomb that took the lives of two members of his family. He had tried to get control of a $10-million family estate. The impact of his own foolish choices became clear the day he sat in a state of shock as the verdict of guilty was read before a hushed courtroom. What irony! This man could have been rich. He could have had so much if he had been willing to wait.

Yet, that doesn't have to be the end of the story. Think about the possibility that still remains. As long as he has breath, he can, like the thief on the cross, acknowledge his sins and ask Christ for help. And just as that thief, who was considered unfit for society, was made fit for Paradise, this man can become "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17), a citizen of heaven.

Such a turnaround is always possible for the sinner. This is what God was saying to Israel through the prophet Ezekiel. Because He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, He pleads with them to repent.

Perhaps you've been thinking you're too bad to be forgiven. You're not. Turn from your sin and trust Jesus as your Savior, and you'll make that possibility a reality.  — Mart De Haan