“And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.'” Luke 23:43 (ESV)
The thief on the cross received the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life. In our vernacular, we would say that he was in the ninth inning with two outs and a full count. His next decision would determine his future. When the thief made the decision to turn to Christ, his forever was radically changed. Instead of going to hell, the thief, now as a newly converted child of God, went to heaven.
We rejoice in the immense mercy and grace Jesus demonstrated upon the cross for this thief. However, this thief had no time to grow spiritually and to develop his spiritual muscles. Was he authentically saved? Yes! Did he have time to develop into a mature follower of Christ? No!
Fortunately, you have the privilege of knowing Christ personally and growing in your love relationship with Him. The challenge for you is not the matter of salvation, but the matter of sanctification. Are you growing? Are you becoming who Christ made you to be? You have both the privilege and responsibility to maximize the time you have in order to grow spiritually.
What have you learned so far in your spiritual journey? Life on earth is a classroom of preparation for the life to come. How are you utilizing what God has given you with the time you have? Are you intentional about your spiritual maturation? Are you growing in your love relationship with Jesus?
Drawing Near,
Stephen Trammell
Lead Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell