Lukas 23:40-42
40But the other criminal stopped him and said, “You should fear God! You are getting the same punishment he is. 41 We are punished justly, getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Just before Jesus finally gives his last breath, a criminal on one of the crosses shouts at him with hurtful insults, while another one recognised Jesus’ innocence. Just imagine how strange that might be: a criminal, who has done something that is deserving of death at that time, asks Jesus to be with him? Is that even fair?
It is always easier to judge other people than yourself. Have you ever judged someone, but did the same thing that you were judging them for? We always seem to want grace for ourselves, but it takes a lot more to want it for other people. Jesus comes and shows His grace to someone who had not deserved it.
In this story we see that Jesus makes grace available to everyone. Despite all he had done wrong, he does something right – he sees his own mistakes, but realises that it is not enough to stop God. God’s grace is also for you, but perhaps we can start to learn to see our own mistakes and experience grace rather than missing grace when we judge others.
Grace is for messy people.
Prayer: Lord God, please help me to see the grace you have given to me. I know I didn’t do anything to deserve it; so thank You for showing me grace freely.
Challenge: Read the whole story of Jesus and the criminals so that you can have a clearer picture of the grace that Jesus gives. (Luke 23:35-43)
