POLOKWANE – Easter has just passed where millions of Christians all over the world celebrated the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
What fascinates me is a petition by one of the criminals crucified with Jesus on the cross, “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom,” (Luke 23:42).
Here is a man deserving punishment on the cross due to his terrible criminal offences. Maybe he had killed people, abused women, done all sorts of atrocious crimes; the wrongs he did justly lands him where he never thought he could see himself.
Amazing though, is that he had even lost his original name, he is now called a “criminal”. “Hey, Serial Killer come and eat! Hey Thief its dinner time! Hey Trickster, it’s time to go to church! Hey, you Gossiper lets go to town.” Every time they called this man, they were calling him according to his characteristics. This man lived up to his name until he met Jesus on the cross.
Although he was at the shadow of the point of death, feeling agonising pain but he realised that he was at the right place – with Jesus at the Cross.
He immediately asked for forgiveness, “Jesus, remember me. I once was part of your worship community, I knew you, I enjoyed an unshakeable relationship with you.
But I fell from grace and committed wrongs. So forgive me. Jesus immediately looked at him and said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” He never looked at him the way the world did. The world saw someone beyond repair, a sinner, but Jesus saw his child, a person created in his image, deserving forgiveness.
Readers, the look of Jesus is different than the look of man. I beg of you, don’t be weighed down by the distractions and disappointments in life. What you are yet to experience in the future is much more important than what is behind you.
No matter what you have done in the past, no matter what your family, friends and church goers have concluded about you, just know that Jesus’ eyes are looking at you and He is prepared to welcome you into his paradise.
Your analysis and observations maybe true, but it doesn’t do you any good to put yourself down. Put your past in the past. Quit condemning yourself.
