If It’s Too Heavy

“But this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy. And I will grant wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood, Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:16-21 NASB

It seems to me that humanity has two choices…. 

Either choose to walk away from God or  

choose to repent and surrender to Jesus Christ. 

During Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, there were two other men suffering the same death, one to either side of Him. The one to Christ’s right is oft times referred to as the “Good Thief,” while the one to His left is referred to as the “Unrepentant Thief.” 

While these men were suffering the same gruesome execution and were both in the presence of Jesus, their reactions to their situation are quite different.

Luke 23:39-43 NASB “One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”” 

The unrepentant thief rejects Our Lord and demands from Jesus, “save yourself and us”.   

But the repenting thief does not ask to be taken down. Instead he rebukes the other and proclaims Christ’s innocence, and in one of the most startling and beautiful moments of the Gospel, does not ask to be taken down from his sure and painful death. 

He asks, instead, to be taken up with Christ, asking “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

Jesus replies to his surrender, saying, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”  

Hallelujah! Tell God that you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Tell Jesus you love Him! He will welcome you.  It is your choice to declare openly that He is the Saviour, your Savior. 

This is Holy Spirit’s teaching, the lesson of those crucified with Jesus and the one, who acknowledged his own sin and accepted his cross to bear, placing his hope not in this world, but in the promise of eternity in God’s kingdom. It is the story of a man who was saved in the eleventh hour, saved within a matter of minutes before an earthly death. 

Isaiah 55:6-7 NASB “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

We must choose! Do you wish to come down from your cross and continue to be of today’s world like the thief who does not see? Or will you accept your cross and be taken up to Christ in the life to come?

If you feel your burden is too heavy, tell God, just as the good thief admitted his sin, accepted his suffering, and thus, opened his heart to the transformative power of Jesus Christ instead of giving up hope in the life to come.  

We can look forward to receiving the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven in our hearts here on earth and being with God forever in Paradise.