Why do sinner refuse God's last attempt to save them via Divine Mercy?

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BenSinner

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It is said that even the hardest of sinners will have hope at the last minute of death, because Christ will come to them and ask them to come to him…but according to St. Faustina, many people reject him.

If a person is that intimately communicating with Jesus at the hour of death, why do they still reject him?
 
It is a mystery. However, if they’ve refused God all their lives or have never thought of him at all, it makes sense. Perhaps like Judas they despair or perhaps they can’t even recognize God.
 
It’s a difficult one to comprehend, isn’t it, especially when you consider what that rejection means. I wonder whether it has something to do with being exposed to the true, total effect of one’s sins… perhaps this is more than some souls think they can bear. Or perhaps truth itself can become too painful and too hard to face after a lifetime of avoidance and denial.
 
On another forum the other day, a guy I know who is a gay anti-theist (thinks religion is the babe of humanity, is"beyond stupid", etc.) said when asked if he believed in God, no. However, he went on to say that if he found out that God existed, he would hate him, curse at him, tell him off, and stay by his way of life no matter what. “His existence doesn’t earn my respect,” etc. I don’t see it as very far fetching that someone can look Our Lord in the eye and still refuse.

The Pharisees saw Christ and the miraculousness of his Divinity before them, and decided to kill him, after all.
 
I’m always reminded of C.S. Lewis’ book The Last Battle when I see this question. I think when we see Jesus, some will instantly love Him, and some will immediately hate Him.

It’s terribly sad.

When you’ve been searching for God all your life, wanting to know Him and let Him be the Lord of your life, and you finally see Him in the flesh, Love personified, you will immediately love Him and know Him. Even those who have never heard of Jesus, if they’ve been searching for the Truth, will know the Truth when they see Him.

But for those who have spent their entire lives rejecting God, running from Him, ignoring every whisper of His spirit, giving themselves entirely over to appetites of the flesh…when they see God, they can easily reject every loving overture and choose themselves. They would rather be a king over their own life than bend their knees to the King of Kings.

And so God lets them be a king over themselves, a prisoner of the flesh, unable to understand or accept His divine mercy and grace.

That’s why it’s so important to know God and love Him now, and to learn to deny ourselves and seek His kingdom, and not wait until the moment of death to make that final choice.

St. Joseph, pray for us that we are granted the grace of final perseverance, and like St. Paul, that we can run the race, without fainting, until the end, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
 
We have no idea if people refuse or not. We cannot judge another.
 
BenSinner said:
It is said that even the hardest of sinners will have hope at the last minute of death, because Christ will come to them and ask them to come to him…but according to St. Faustina, many people reject him.

If a person is that intimately communicating with Jesus at the hour of death, why do they still reject him?
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Maybe this is a good answer as to why we should not blame God when we are sent to hell. Sinners reject God. It is not God who wants to send them to hell.
 
I saw some NDE testimony where a person who had died said that God showed him two people from his life who he needed to forgive in order to be saved. One was a taxi driver who had just thrown the dying person out of his cab rather than take him to the hospital, because he had no money on him to pay the fare.

If God were to do something like that, show us people who we had to forgive, I can totally see someone saying, “No, I don’t forgive that person!” Which would ultimately be a rejection of God as we are not being loving to other humans even when God asks us to.
 
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BenSinner said:
It is said that even the hardest of sinners will have hope at the last minute of death,
because Christ will come to them ( Christ will come to them ? )
and ask them to come to him…( Christ will ask that ? )
but according to St. Faustina, ( what’s the quote )
many people reject him.
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It sounds like - Ben Sinner - you are unsure of things.
Are you a Catholic ?
 
God knows the heart. I believe that there’s a turning point for a sinner who stubbornly chooses the bad path. Beyond that point, God allows the ‘hardening of the heart’, a wording used for the Pharaoh in Exodus.
 
I was reading in Wisdom chapter 12 today and it reminded me of this thread and others like it.
1 For thy immortal spirit is in all things.
2 Therefore thou dost correct little by little those who trespass,
and dost remind and warn them of the things wherein they sin,
that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in thee, O Lord.
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The Holy Spirit is rebuking and reminding us of our sin throughout our lives, gently trying to lead us to trust in God.
26 But those who have not heeded the warning of light rebukes
will experience the deserved judgment of God.
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Sadly, many choose to not listen to His warnings and harden their hearts against His Spirit.
27 For when in their suffering they became incensed
at those creatures which they had thought to be gods, being punished by means of them, they saw and recognized as the true God him whom they had before refused to know. Therefore the utmost condemnation came upon them.
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This is referring to the Canaanites who worshipped idols and were punished by God, who destroyed their idols in order to bring them to repentance. However, despite seeing God’s power, they still refused to worship Him.

They recognized the true God and rejected Him anyway, and were condemned. This can apply to anyone who refuses to recognize God and rejects His authority in their lives.
17 Thou art righteous and rulest all things righteously,
deeming it alien to thy power to condemn him who does not deserve to be punished.
16 For thy strength is the source of righteousness,
and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all.
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But we can be comforted knowing that God’s justice and wise judgement is perfect, and that He does not punish anyone who does not deserve it.
 
Free will? Persevering in unforgiveness? Pride? Giving in to the power of the evil one? Giving in to despair?
 
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I don’t know but don’t you just want to shake them? But that probable wouldn’t work either.
 
BenSinner said:
It is said that even the hardest of sinners will have hope at the last minute of death, because Christ will come to them and ask them to come to him…but according to St. Faustina, many people reject him.

If a person is that intimately communicating with Jesus at the hour of death, why do they still reject him?
Click to expand...
How do you accept someone you don’t know? That you never had faith in. Or that you refused to follow.

Think about those disciples who followed Jesus, heard Him speak to them face to face. The one in the beginning who spoke and everything that is, came into being. They saw His miracles, yet wouldn’t believe Him, wouldn’t stay with Him. They left Him, walked away, never to follow Him again. Jn 6:60-66 RSVCE - The Words of Eternal Life - Many of his - Bible Gateway. And IMV, one of the scariest passages in scripture, Jesus didn’t go after them. He let them go.
 
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For anyone concerned about the OP’s question, I would recommend they read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. The book contains much food for thought on the subject. It contains incredible vignettes of damned souls, already in Hell and miraculously given a chance to reside in Heaven, who turn down the gift and shows just why they do that. Frightening and thought-provoking.
 
I think we should pray for him (don’t tell him this verbally though as it might sound offensive to hm).
He may have a distorted perspective of God and Christianity.
 
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