When Jesus died on the cross, two men were hanging and dying on His right and left. Unable to comprehend their suffering and impending death, they cursed their fate. After all, who can truly understand human suffering and death? Yet, one of them—the Penitent Thief—fixed his gaze intently upon Jesus Christ. Through this attentive contemplation, he grasped the meaning of his own death, accepted it, and found peace of mind.
Observing Jesus—who had never sinned, who walked only the path of love, and who trusted in God even in a situation of utter despair—the thief came to understand the nature of human death and became convinced that death was not the absolute end of everything. Thus, by saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42), he expressed his acceptance of death and his faith, ultimately achieving reconciliation with himself, the world, and God. Perceiving the heart of this repentant thief, Jesus declared, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43), thereby affirming that a person who accepts death and places firm trust in God shall never truly die.
These very words are addressed to us as well. He spoke not a single word to the unrepentant thief—the one who rejected death and failed to reconcile with the world, himself, and God.
Human death can be overcome through faith in Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Through faith, one can transcend suffering and death. This is achieved not by thinking, but by believing.
Thus, the truth is not Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” (*Cogito ergo sum*), but rather Pascal’s “I believe, therefore I am” (*Credo ergo sum*). Believing operates on a more fundamental level than thinking, just as faith lies at a deeper level than knowledge. It is faith—not knowledge—that serves as the driving force enabling us to transcend suffering and death and to embark upon a new dimension of life.
While reason falls silent in the face of the fear of death, faith is a transcendent power—like that of the Good Thief—that enables one to look toward God and trust in eternal paradise even in moments of despair. Thus, the true fulfillment of human existence is achieved not through the accumulation of finite knowledge, but in the realm of faith, where one wholly entrusts oneself to God’s infinite mercy. In this way, a complete faith that transcends mere intellectual knowledge is the most perfect and fundamental path of salvation, leading humanity into the light of eternal life.
