Jesus turned to the one thief on the cross next to him and said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
I want to hear Jesus say that to me. I am certainly no better than that thief, but the Bible says that God is no respecter of persons. Our relationship with the Lord hinges on an attitude; an awareness that God is more real than we are. That attitude of the heart should impact not only what we do, but what we say and what we think. In other words, the more we focus on Jesus, the more we will see others through the eyes of Jesus and the more we will be like Jesus.
If never committing adultery, abusing your spouse, family, friends, strangers, in any way is about doing what is right or not doing what is wrong then we’ve missed it. Relationship is not a theology, philosophy or concept. Living through the eyes of Jesus is a natural consequence of having a healthy relationship with the Lord. You can’t have a relationship unless you spend time with the Lord.
I’ve always thought I loved the Lord, but last night I had a disturbing dream. I tend to say the Lord’s Prayer a lot because in the original Greek the disciples were instructed to pray this prayer every time they came together. Hundreds of years ago the Church stopped saying it every time they came together because they call it a vain repetition.
As I interpret my dream I met Jesus before entering heaven. He directed me to open a door. When I opened the door I entered a room full of faces of those who have hurt me; family, friends, district managers, and people I only remember because of what they said or did that was painful to me.
On the other side of the room I saw Jesus waiting for me.
In the Lord’s Prayer, which I say at least twice a day, it says,
Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our tresspasses, debts, sins,
as we also have forgiven those who trespass, abuse, hurt us. (my version)
Can I pass through the hurt and pain represented by the faces of those people?
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