The Promise

"One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him:
“Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him.
“Don’t you fear God,” he said,
“since you are under the same sentence?
We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.
But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth,
today you will be with me in paradise.”
Luke 23 v 39-43

It’s an amazing promise: today you will be in paradise. But that’s not the best promise in verse 43. We tend to put the emphasis on the wrong words. We tend to read the words this way: Today you’ll be with me in paradise. But really, we should read it as: Today you’ll be with me in paradise.

Being with Jesus is the definition of paradise! The thing that makes paradise wonderful—the thing that makes paradise paradise—is the presence of Jesus. It’s not paradise primarily because there are a lot of fun things to do and see. It’s not paradise primarily because the problems that plague you here on earth are behind you. It’s not even paradise primarily because the people you loved most and who had faith in Jesus will be there. It’s paradise because you will be with Jesus.

This is a whole different way to look at our future, and our life in the present. It’s what Paul is getting at in Philippians 1 v 23. He’s writing from prison, and facing the real possibility of execution. How does he react? Not like the first criminal on the cross, railing at Jesus for landing him in jail. Not focusing on his present problems. What does he want? “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.”

What does Paul want? To be in heaven. Not sitting in a mansion in the sky, or lining up at an endless buffet, but with Jesus.

Don’t miss this: Jesus is the hope of heaven. Jesus is the promise. He is the reward. Ultimately, that’s the difference between those two thieves. The first wants Jesus to do things for him. The second just wants Jesus. The first will love Jesus if He gives him what he demands right now. The second just wants Jesus to remember him, to know him, beyond death.

It’s worth asking ourselves: if heaven gave me everything— the job, the girl or guy, the car, the health, the wealth—but Jesus wasn’t there, would I be content there? Or if heaven gave me nothing except Jesus, would I be satisfied? Deep down, I think I often answer “yes” and “no”. That’s because I love other things too much, and I love the Lord Jesus far, far too little.

Now, the point here is not to heap guilt and condemnation on ourselves. That’s exactly the opposite of the point. The point is that we take all of our false and pathetic loves to Jesus and we find that He died for even those sins. He died to take away the guilt for our shamefully weak and misdirected passions and desires. He died so that we are forgiven for loving what He gives us more than we love Him. And so when we go to Him, we don’t find him angry and scolding. We find Him gracious and forgiving, with the power to help us change.

We need to focus on our future more than our present. We need to love our Lord more than we love anything else in our lives. We need to yearn for heaven, simply because that is where we will be with Jesus. How can we do this? Look at Jesus’ passion, what He did for you, and you will find yourself growing passionate about Him. As you meditate on Jesus’ love and humility and all that He did for you, your love for Him will be stoked into a blaze that dwarfs anything else. As you look at the dazzling beauty of His honesty, His humility, His integrity and His sacrifice, other things will pale in comparison.

Then you’ll become like that second criminal. He only wanted to be with Jesus. Let the same be true of us.

This is an edited extract from Mike McKinley's book, Passion: How Christ's Final Day Changes Your Every Day