«But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?’ ”(Luke 23:40).
Someone compared salvation to an auction: any movement is taken as an act to make an offer. Once when we were at an auction, my husband made a signal to our daughter to call her over; immediately the auctioneer shouted, “Sold!” Jesus offers us salvation, and even those who make the least movement of faith will obtain it. The thief who accompanied Jesus on the cross experienced this saving reality. While the corrupt religious leaders were sentencing Jesus to death, the disciples were running away in fear, and the soldiers were mocking Him, this man declared that Jesus was God: ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?” (Luke 23:40).
He confessed his sins by saying, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this Man has done nothing wrong” (verse 41, NIV). He manifested hope in a coming kingdom: “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom,” expressing his faith in the resurrection at the same time (verse 42). “The thief asked in faith, repentance, and contrition. […] The hope [expressed] in his voice was mixed with anguish as he realized that if the Savior did not want to, he was lost, eternally lost. He entrusted his helpless body and soul to Jesus.”—SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 877.
“Some among the redeemed will have laid hold of Christ in the last hours of life, and in heaven instruction will be given to those who, when they died, did not understand perfectly the plan of salvation. Christ will lead the redeemed ones beside the river of life, and will open to them that which while on this earth they could not understand.”—Selected Messages, , vol. 1, p. 262.
The thief on the cross obtained salvation! It didn’t matter when Jesus would take him to the kingdom; he died with the promise, and that was enough.
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Taken from: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2023
“DAUGHTER OF MINE” Do Not Be Afraid
From: Arsenia Fernandez-Uckele
Collaborators: Xiomara Perdomo & Esteban Cortes
