“Dear M,

The Lord desires the salvation of each and every person. But not everyone wants to be saved. In word they all desire it, but in deed they reject it. How do they reject it? Not through sin, because there were many great sinners, like the thief, Saint Mary of Egypt and others. They repented of their sins and the Lord forgave them, and thus they achieved salvation. The ones who perish are the ones who sin but do not repent and only justify their transgressions. That is the worst, most deplorable state. The Lord says I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32).

What does this mean? God’s word says, There is none righteous, no, not one…they are together become unprofitable (Rom. 3:10,12). Everyone is a sinner, and the more holy a person is the more he notices his own sins. The very…