Luke 23:39-43- One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

One of the hardest things to embrace, is to accept justice being handed out against us. That when accused of wrong doing, we can run to excuses and reasons why we shouldn’t be punished or have consequences. In other words, we are trying to “save ourselves” from the guilt, the embarrassment, and shame of being wrong…

No one enjoys having to face their faults, but there is virtue in doing so. It makes us responsible, and not see our life as a victim of people’s actions and circumstances. But the hard part about being responsible for wrong doing, is to be left with knowing there are consequences. Unless we are shown mercy…

The two criminals with Jesus on the cross embody this dilemma. One of the criminals shows that he doesn’t care about being responsible for his sins, he just wants Jesus to preserve him. The other knows he is guilty and deserves the justice of his sins, yet asks Jesus to remember, and in hope be preserved…

Taking responsibility for our sins is a sign of faith and hope, that there is an innocent man who died in the place of those sins! When we avoid being responsible, by making excuses and blaming situations for our wrongdoing, we display a lack of hope for mercy/forgiveness. We all want to be preserved against the penalty of our sins, but only one mentality honors the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In His Love, Ld