If you've been given the gift of "seeing" how it all fits together or seeing a miracle, you should rejoice. You're a very fortunate person. But, the reality is that a lot of us - most of us, maybe - don't get to see like that on this side of Heaven. For whatever reason, if there are signs and miracles, we're missing them. So, if seeing signs is the key to having faith, then we're in trouble.

Maybe you'd better be thankful that God doesn't always make things fair in this life because, if He did, you might not be here tomorrow. None of us would be. That's the truth.

The Matrix "is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you to the truth." Did you know that the Bible says the same exact thing is going on in this world? People are blinded to the truth and constantly deceived, not by artificial intelligence run amok, but by a real intelligence that's far greater (and far more sinister) about an issue far more important than their day-to-day existence.

Look at the big picture here: Carl, as the law, pursued Frank all over the world in the name of justice. It's his job. But he kept on pursuing him beyond what the law required in order to gain custody. Why? Because even though Frank was a lawbreaker, he mattered. He was valuable. He was redeemable and worth the effort to do so.

The Bible tells us that, in the same way, God also chooses to pursue sinners for the same reasons - because they matter to Him. This is the hope, that the God who carries out justice is also a God who has a heart of mercy and compassion for dead and doomed sinners like Frank Abagnale, and Cypher Reagan and Bruce Nolan and Graham Hess and Rick McGinniss and every person sitting in this room. Even though we're lawbreakers, we matter. We're valuable. We're redeemable and worth the effort to do so.

When you come to that point in your life where you put your faith in Christ, God declares you righteous. It's a done deal and it never changes. You don't have to be re-forgiven. You don't have to re-accept Jesus for sins you committed after you accepted him the first time. If you're sincere and you put your faith in Christ, you are saved for good. But holiness - becoming like Jesus in your character - and redemption - turning a life bound for waste into one that is useful to God's purposes and plans - those are things that God brings about over time.