Reflecting on Luke 23:39-43“Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
Jesus came as a new Adam to restore God’s creation paradise.
By refusing Satan’s lies (unlike Adam and Eve), Jesus beats Satan.
He reclaims Adam’s position (Genesis 1:26-28), and therefore God’s kingdom.
Jesus now reigns over all creation, though Satan is not giving up without a fight.
Jesus assures this criminal that his simple hope in Him will be rewarded.
The moment his heart turned toward Jesus, everything changed.
‘As of this moment, as far as God is concerned, you are in the kingdom!’
In some ways, nothing changed; he was still suffering and dying.
But from God’s perspective, his humble heart qualified him for paradise.
When the man finally opened his eyes after dying, he saw Jesus.
We were created for paradise, life forever with God and each other in God’s love.
Life in this present age is a far cry from paradise.
Yet people long for paradise, and even do the foolish things they do to find it.
God shows us through Jesus’s sacrificial love that living in and for LOVE is the key to paradise.
If we surrender to Jesus and the Jesus Way of LOVE, He opens the door to paradise for us.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, everyone seems to be seeking the good life, but cannot seem to find it. Help us to realize that the good life (paradise) cannot be found unless we find it through You and Your way - in the gift and life of LOVE.