And this, at the time of the victorious Crisis of the Ages -- the redemptive death and resurrection of Christ! Hardly a coincidence!
But of the two hanging there next to the Son of God, only one was saved! What made the difference?
They each perhaps heard Jesus' "Father, forgive them..." but only one responded in repentance and faith:
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left...
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly ["we are sinners"], for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong ["He is the sinless Messiah"].”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:32-42
Look at our Lord's response:
Truly I say to you, TODAY you will be with ME in Paradise [heaven]. Luke 23:43
So one desperate, believing lost one was found...captured by the seeking, pursuing Lover of Sinners!
We are not unlike these criminals (or the straying sheep, the lost coin, or the prodigal son, for that matter)...
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6
We all go our own way -- wandering off and needing God's rescue. And we're all faced with a choice (as these two criminals were), God's salvation or our own. Yes, even as believers, "saved ones."
The Divine Pursuer is always on a "Rescue Mission"...sovereignly orchestrating our circumstances (as He did for the thieves on the cross) so we can encounter HIM in new and life-giving ways. He rescues us from our self-centered attitudes and ways of doing life [SIN].
As C.S. Lewis once said,
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains:
It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. C.S. Lewis
Where in your life today, dear friend, is the Divine Pursuer seeking you out, perhaps even shouting at you?
Is it in your relationships?
...in your finances?
...in your attitudes and thought life?
...in your health?
...in the health crises of loved ones?
...in _______[fill in the blank]_____?
Call out to HIM in your distress...TODAY!
For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation. 2Cor 6:2
Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:17
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Listen, view, and reflect on our suffering Savior
[with scenes from The Passion of the Christ]: