Paradise Gained

-March 13, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.‘ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’”

(Luke 23:42-43).

Jesus was crucified with two thieves. At first, both criminals blasphemed Him, telling Him if He was the Son of God to save Himself and them. But something happened to the second criminal, after hearing Jesus’ words and how He suffered; he turned to Him in saving faith. He turned to our Savior and said, “Lord, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.” He knew he was a sinner and needed a Savior. Jesus spoke those beautiful and assuring words, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

We can all relate to this thief on the cross. We came to Jesus as sinners, guilty, lost, hopeless, and separated from God, to repent of our sins and believe in Him and His finished work on the cross. The hymn writer Charlotte Elliott wrote, Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou biddst come to Thee — O Lamb of God, I come, I come!” This hymn is so appropriate for the saved thief and for everyone who comes in faith to Christ for salvation.

The word Paradise is another word for heaven. It is found three times in the NT: here in Luke, in 2 Corinthians 12:4, where Paul was transported to Paradise and saw and heard wonderful things before returning to earth, and in Revelation 2:7, where Jesus promised that we will eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, they sinned by eating from the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result God banished them from the garden. For them, and thus for us their descendants, it was Paradise Lost; but now through Christ it is Paradise gained. We will be with Lord and all believers forever. We will one day meet the thief of the cross too. We are all bought with the blood of Jesus.

This thief on the cross never got to join a church, be baptized, take communion, serve the Lord, or tithe, but he was saved right then and there, and went to be with the Lord in Paradise. The most important thing, and the only thing that really matters is our soul’s destiny and being saved.

Have a blessed day thanking God for our salvation. It is all of Him and through His grace and mercy. Paradise is our final destination. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal grace,

Dean