The Story of Jesus on the Cross

The Story of Jesus on the Cross

(Luke 23:43) And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”

Here was Christ fulfilling His ultimate mission, to lay down His innocent life for all of humanity to be redeemed to the Father, to fix a broken creation, to crush the head of the serpent.  Here the sorrowful wanderer is in sight of his ultimate goal.  That for all the rejection He had suffered, for all the wounds that mankind put on the body of the gentle healer, we was almost finished, almost done.

But such was the character of Christ, that even as he was laying down His life, He paused to pick up a thief who had lost his way, and wanted to come home.  That even rejected and despised of men, beaten and marred, even in agony, He would stoop to pick up one more thief, one more murderer, one more prostitute, one more gossip, one more Pharisee, one more homosexual, one more cheater, one more adulterer, or one more lost soul then he would.  This is the God that came to seek and save those who are lost.  He would leave the church waiting while He fed a homeless man.

When every word hurt, when every syllable burned, His words were still those of His Father.

When was the last time your words hurt? When was the last time they burned like bile in your mouth? Was it when they said “I don’t love you anymore, and I never did”? Did they say “I hate you, I’m leaving”?  Did they say “Our Company doesn’t need you anymore, we’re letting you go”? Did they say “Mabey you’d be more comfortable at a different church”?  Did they say “I hate you, I wish you weren’t my mom, I wish you weren’t my dad”?  Maybe they didn’t know you were there, and they were just talking about you like you were a burden, like you were worthless, like you didn’t matter.

Can you bring life to death, can you bring love to hate, can you forgive the ones that wounded you?  Will you revile them, will you bring at them all the Hell you possess, or do you have Heaven to offer?

What words will you choose, when every word hurts, when every syllable burns?

(Luke 23:43) And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise”