Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 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 23:39-43 NKJV
Yes, I know this is more like a passage we would read at Easter. But if we believe that the Christ child was the one born of the virgin Mary and laid in that manger, then we must believe that He is the same who was crucified to save us from our sins. I want you to take a minute today and think about what you truly believe.
Amidst all the Christmas trees and lights and presents and celebrations, do you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord? Now before you answer this question, I want to ask you to think about how you live your life? Do you live like you believe He is Lord?
In simple terms those two criminals hanging there with Jesus are representative of all of us in the world. Either we believe or we don’t. The one criminal who didn’t believe was self-serving. He simply wanted Jesus to remove him from a bad situation. He had done wrong; he had been caught and he was in a jam. He told Jesus, “If you really are the Christ, save us and yourself.” He didn’t necessarily believe, but if Jesus was the Christ, he wanted to try to get what he could from Him. He was putting in a 911 call to test Jesus. But that’s not how it works.
On the other hand, the other criminal believed and understood what was going on. He admitted that He had sinned. He acknowledged that Jesus Christ was Lord and he asked Jesus to remember him when He got to heaven. Jesus responded to the second criminal by telling him that he would be in paradise with Jesus on that very day.
If we believe that the little baby born of the virgin Mary grew up to be a man in ministry who never sinned and showed us how to live and performed great miracles, then we are off to a good start. James 2:19 says, “You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. Believing that Jesus Christ is Lord is a good start, but it’s only the beginning. It’s how we live our lives that makes the difference. It’s how we talk to others. It’s how we treat others. In Romans 12, Paul tells us how we should behave as Christians. I strongly encourage you to read the whole chapter, but verse 15 says we should rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. This means that we should want good for others. We should put others above ourselves. We should be broken hearted for the lost and dying of this world.
Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be born into this world, fully man and fully God. He lived on the earth for 33 years. In that time, he suffered temptation, heartache, physical pain and torture, but he never sinned. He set an example for us to show us how we should live.
If Jesus wasn’t really the Messiah, then there is no salvation for us. We cannot be forgiven of our sins, and we are doomed to hell. If He didn’t come to save us from our sins, we have no hope.
If Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah sent to save us from our sins then we have a choice. We can trust in Him and obey Him and surrender our lives to Him and be saved or we can reject Him.
I believe that Jesus Christ truly was the Messiah come down from heaven to save us. I believe He is Lord and I strive each and every day to make Him Lord over my life. I try to acknowledge Him in all that I do (Proverbs 3:5-6). I trust in Him to work all things for my good because I love Him with all my heart and do my best to live according to His purpose for my life (Romans 8:28). I want to live in a way that brings Him glory and honor and praise.
What do you believe? Does your lifestyle match your belief? Give that some thought during this Christmas season.
Have a great day!