Today!

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43 ESV). I love this part of the Passion Narrative. Luke recalls the words of Jesus to the thief on one side of him also dying: “… today you will be with me in paradise.” Listen to that word… TODAY! It is not someday; it is not “when the roll is called up yonder.” It is today. That’s some promise. What makes the promise even more stunning is the person to whom Jesus is speaking. He is a common thief. What odd company to be in such close proximity to the divine. There are some interesting details we shouldn’t overlook. Notice how his attention is fixed firmly on the future. He is not overwhelmed by the present, trapped in the immediacy of his dilemma. He obviously doesn’t feel trapped in his present situation. So many today feel as if they are trapped in a painful now; they cannot see any way out of it. It is as if they are shackled in their present trial and cannot be free of it. The penitent thief has his eyes fixed on the future. He has the audacity to claim a future for himself; he can see through what is and claim what is to come. He simply asks Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And what the thief has the imagination to ask for, Jesus has the power to grant: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” The penitent thief is the example to all of us who wonder whether things are too far gone for God to intervene. Things are never too far gone. Things are never as hopeless as they seem. Christopher Reeve said, “Once you choose hope,

anything's possible.” You may remember that Reeve was an actor who achieved stardom for his motion picture portrayal of the superhero Superman. On May 27, 1995, Reeve became a quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition. He was confined to a wheelchair and required a portable ventilator until his death in 2004. Like the thief, shortly before his death he confessed his belief in God. His roots were in the Presbyterian Church. Facing the certainty of death he found the path to his future in Christ. He wrote that quote at that time in his life. Hope can always be found when we look into the eyes of our Savior. Everything in your life may have gone terribly wrong thus far. You are only one glance at the Savior away from changing all of that! Today everything can be changed!