With me in Paradise

I remember one night lying in bed as a tropical storm broke overhead. I don't know if it was the noise of the storm which woke me or the fact that I was getting wet! Rainwater was pouring down the wall of the room. The friendly hotel staff member was very helpful - he assisted me in pulling the bed out a few centimetres further away from the wall, so at least I didn't get wet. It's a different class of service you get in some parts of the world!

There's something awesome about a terrific storm: something to do with the display of raw power. In this booklet we'll keep referring back to Psalm 29 - a psalm which graphically describes for us the voice of the Lord. Let's remind ourselves of what it says:

The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;

The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters.

The voice of the LORD is powerful,

The voice of the LORD is majestic.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;

Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

And Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.

The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;

The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve

And strips the forests bare;

And in His temple everything says, "Glory!"

(Psalm 29:3-9)

The storm, that David seems to have been watching, reminded him that God's in control - even in the storms of life. Seven times he mentions 'the voice of the Lord' - as being on the waters; as being powerful; as being majestic; as breaking trees; as making flames of fire; as shaking the desert; and as making the forest bare – in total seven reminders that the voice of the Lord is magnificent.

There are other kinds of storms too. In the storms of life God's voice can sound equally powerful and majestic. The Bible makes reference to what it calls 'the treasures of darkness'. I'd like to apply that phrase today to something we can all possess - something which can be ours because God's Son, Jesus, came to a dark place, so we could have this treasure. The world became dark when Jesus died on the cross. The Bible describes Jesus as enduring a great storm there: with waves of suffering breaking over him (Psalm 69). Seven times the voice of the Lord Jesus was heard from the cross, the cross where the greatest ever storm broke. And now we come to the second of the seven times the Lord's voice was heard. We'll let the gospel writer, Luke, bring it to us from his gospel, chapter 23:

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."  (Luke 23:39-43)

Yes, this is Christ's word spoken to the dying thief. It tells the story of an eleventh hour conversion - recorded to demonstrate that we're saved by faith, and not by works. For what works could a man do who was bound hand and foot to a cross? But equally, this record of how one of the thieves received salvation proves how essential genuine repentance is for anyone who wants to be saved.

Notice the thief's unqualified confession: "We are receiving what we deserve for our deeds." Unlike his accomplice in crime who was crucified on the other side of Jesus, this man no longer screams abuse or demands to be freed from this punishment he's experiencing. He admits he's getting what he deserves. There are no more excuses, nor any appeals for sympathy - just an acceptance of guilt on his part.

Hanging next to Christ in death, this man's whole way of thinking underwent a profound change. That's what the Bible means by repentance. The dying thief's view of himself and of his past deeds has changed, but so has his view of Christ. He's stopped joining in with the mockery. Remember, this man has lived a lawless life, one which has opposed the rule of law. His had been a life of obvious rebellion, defying the government of the day as a political activist or murderous bandit - or perhaps both. Fair play was something he'd never had any respect for.

But, now, see the effect of his repentance. He's done with anarchy: he's applying to be admitted to the kingdom of Christ! He's willingly yielding to his rule and authority, while fully recognizing Christ's right to reign over him. The Bible says we all need to repent. Even if we've been law-abiding citizens in our relations with our country, for it's been a different story in our relations with God. The Bible doesn't charge us all with serious crimes, but it does charge us all with 'going astray' from God. Every one of us. We've turned, every one, to his own way, the prophet Isaiah says. And what God requires is repentance: which is that we, the unrighteous, forsake our thoughts - our own wicked and rebellious thoughts - and return to the Lord.

This world is in the mess it's in, because we all go about acting like little gods, trying to take charge of our own lives. The dying thief had done that big time. But he was through with it. He was handing over the reins of his life to Christ - at the eleventh hour.

The dying thief had not only repented of his sin, but had also placed his faith in Christ. But you may say: "How?" He didn't say, "I believe."” No, but he spoke of Christ's future kingdom. That took faith, for Christ was dying at his side. Evidently, he'd come to believe that, despite Christ dying on the cross at that moment, he would one day come again to reign.

What might have inspired such faith in this God-fearing thief? Had he heard the Lord's first cry from the cross - the one we considered in the previous chapter of the booklet? - when he'd prayed a prayer of forgiveness for those who had driven the nails into his hands and feet. Surely here was evidence not only of innocence but of unearthly goodness! How could anyone pray for those who were so brutally abusing him? Had that been the point when the thief, witnessing it, had at last began to care about the difference between right and wrong?

"In our case we deserved it," he heard himself say. "But this man has done nothing wrong." As the penny was dropping for him, it might have seemed too little, too late. He realized he'd done wrong, surely many wrongs. He needed to get right with God. But how could that happen now. Surely, he'd left it too late. Any resolution to reform his ways was a waste of his dying breath. Besides, the pain shooting through his body was a disincentive to prayer, and he was likely a complete stranger to prayer anyway.

What could he do, but turn, as a poor, broken rebel to Christ. If those soldiers could be forgiven because they didn't know the enormity of what they were doing, surely he could be forgiven - he, who had never realized before how wonderful God's King really was - until being nailed alongside him. He'd never intended to rebel against a king like that - like the man crucified next to him with the superscription: 'This is Jesus, the king of the Jews'. So at the end of his life, a self-confessed anarchist bowed his heart in faith to heaven's King - and was at once assured of admittance into that coming kingdom.

We're never told his previous partner in crime turned to Christ, we're left to assume he departed this life to face the judgement to come; whereas this thief departed to enjoy the kingdom to come - more than that to be in Paradise with Christ that very same day!

How full of majesty was the voice of the Lord that day: "Today you shall be with Me in Paradise." As supernatural darkness was about to descend at noon that day, and the storm about to break in earnest over Jesus, hearing those words of Jesus was treasure beyond anything the repentant thief could ever have hoped for! Treasures of darkness indeed!

Have you received treasure like that? Even the forgiveness of sins by repenting and believing on the sacrifice of God's Son for you?