Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Swallowed Up

“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.  Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’  There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

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, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Luke 23:32-43 NIV)

I wrote yesterday about leaving a legacy, but what if we look back on our lives with much regret and our legacy is not a positive one?  This was exactly the situation of the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus.  From the lips of one came the confession that the sum of their lives deserved the result—cruel execution on a cross.  The legacy they were leaving was an ugly one.

Yet, in his final hours, one of these two men cried out to Jesus in humility and desperation: “remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  And Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  A new legacy had suddenly swallowed up the old one. For what is a legacy on earth compared to one in Heaven?  A few decades of life compared to ten thousand times ten thousand?  With Jesus, it is never too late in this life.  As Paul reminds us, the godly sorrow of the one criminal left no regret over his life.  It was swallowed up by the overwhelming grace of God. (II Corinthians 7:10)

The man had lived as a criminal.  His legacy was one of thievery or worse. For all intents and purposes, it was sealed.  But unlike the other man who was unrepentant of his sins,  he cried out to Jesus in the final moments of his life.  And it wasn’t too late.

Today, if you are looking back on your life with much regret, ashamed of the legacy you are leaving, know it is not too late.  If the legacy of a criminal in the final hours of his life can be replaced by a new one, then surely yours can be changed with years or decades of life left to live. For grace, if it is sought and received, can always swallow up regret and shame.

© Jim Musser 2015

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