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“Jesus Will Remember You When He Comes Into His Kingdom”

The Saviour whispers of the glory to come for every penitent.

When Christ was crucified beside him, the thief saw in the “felon” next to him – who was almost at his last gasp – the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who would survive the tomb and return to usher in a kingdom such as humanity has never known. More than that, this One would rescue from death all who had come to know him as Saviour and Friend. What a faith is that!

Christ’s last companion is typical of all he came to save: one acknowledging that he has nothing to offer, except a sin-polluted heart.

And when the thief asked for mercy, what a gracious answer he received! An immediate answer! An answer full of hope and wonder! Even in the darkness and dread of that awful hour, the Saviour whispers of the glory to come for the penitent, telling him, not only of the wondrous place that would be his eternal home, but also of the even more wondrous company he would have there: "You will be with me in Paradise.”

“You will be…” others thought he would soon not be, but the Christ assures him of survival beyond the grave—of immortality. “With me…” surely the best part of heaven will be fellowship with him who loved us and gave himself for us. “In Paradise…” the Eden forfeited by the first sinners is to be restored, more magnificent than ever.

What lesson in the story of the thief on the cross do you find the most personally encouraging? What does the story tell you about what God is like? How is that different to what you would expect? How should that transform your relationship with him?

By Dr Desmond Ford