Remember Me

I cannot place myself in the shoes of the three men on the cross at Golgotha. Besides the fact that they were not wearing any, I have no way to identify with them. Christ, my desire, my want, my unobtainable goal, is unattainable. But I can't even see myself in the places of the other two. I have never committed a crime of any magnitude. I have never feared for my life, justly or unjustly.

In studying the passage, though, one thing jumped out at me. Three men having a conversation, each hanging from a cross. Wow! This was not a chat over a cup of coffee or on a street corner. These men were in pain, beaten, near death's door. Would I have even been speaking?

The good thief and the bad thief. What a hoot! A thief is a thief, but I understand where folks are coming from. It is a way to differentiate between the two. I really think the "bad" thief gets a bum rap. I don't think he was just joining in with the crowd, jeering at Jesus. It is kind of like a cell mate of someone about to make a jail break in an old Western movie. He was gung ho for Jesus to make an exit and he wanted to be on board the train when he did.

The good thief just got It. He saw in Jesus something other than himself or his world. Jesus was living in a different dimension. Something that operated not of this world. And it was. It was the heavenly kingdom. He wanted it and Jesus knew it. He spoke to that thief because He was ready to hear the words. To enter the Zone.

Remember me. The words have haunted me. I realized for the first time that this was a prayer from the cross. Remember me. So simple, but yet so powerful. The thief wanted Jesus to see beyond what he had done wrong. To see him for who he was meant to be.

I think in my life, I want Him to see me for just what I am. Not all the vain attempts to be holy, or right, or righteous, or godly. Not for all the man-made initiatives that fell short of what He created me to be. He tells me he sees me and I will be with Him. In relationship.

Because that was what Jesus was about. At the wedding, in the boat, on the mount, at the tomb, at the temple, and last but not least, on the cross. Between two friends.