“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43
hThree crosses on the hillside. Jesus, the one on the middle cross, was innocent. Those who had falsely accused him did not realize who He was. He had all the power of Heaven behind Him. He could have called for angels to come and deliver Him. He willingly suffered because of His love for the world He had created.
The men who hung on the crosses on either side of Jesus were guilty of murder and insurrection. They deserved to die. One of them joined in with the jeers of the crowd, crying out: “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”
But the other one made a different choice, as he realized who Jesus was. He asked for mercy. “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
I recently watched a short clip from a sermon on FB. The speaker talked about what might have happened when the repentant thief came to the door of heaven. When asked, “How did you get here?” His reply was simply, “I do not know. The man on the middle cross said I could come.”
These two hung on a cross because they had made wrong choices in their lives. Now they were each faced with another decision. One chose to mock, the other chose to cry out for mercy.
No matter how many wrong choices we may have made, Jesus still hears our cry for mercy. While we have life, it is never too late to call upon the Lord and trust Him for salvation.
I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Thought For Today: Making the right choice will change your future.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
