PARADISE: A MOMENT OF OPPORTUNITY

 

PARADISE: A MOMENT OF OPPORTUNITY

Luke 23:39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself---and us, too, while you’re at it!”

This passage reminds us of several important truths that we must heed. We are reminded that God gives us opportunities to be saved, even sometimes on our deathbed. When we reach out to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, we are given much grace. Jesus is compassionate and does not turn us away when we turn to Him. When we turn to the Lord we become victors over sin and hell. We then experience the wondrous joy of salvation. And then, when we die, we enter into paradise, a place where Jesus has gone on before us to welcome us into God’s kingdom.

In verses 39-40, we learn that God gives us opportunities to be saved. Everyone is given one last chance to! repent. Our problem is, we don’t know when our last chance will be given. For some, it’s early in life and for some it may be late in life while we are on our deathbed. We cannot assume that we will have another day, another chance to get right with God. If we pass up our opportunity to repent and die in our sins, it will be too late and we will wind up in hell. Life is very unpredictable and fragile. Only a fool would ignore God assuming there will be another day, another hour, for him to repent.

There is no way to sugarcoat this sobering truth. Today is the day of salvation. This moment in time is all you have been given. You don’t know when you will be taking your last breath. Hell will be full of people who passed up God’s offer of salvation one too many times.

I am sure that the dying thief on the cross did not wake up that morning thinking about salvation. He may have been overwhelmed by the thought of his certain death that day, but he probably did not know he would be dying next to the Savior of the world. But God in His mercy opened his eyes to the truth and realness about Christ as they hung there on their crosses. He understood that thought he did not deserve it, God had given him one last chance to repent. No one deserves another chance to repent. No one deserves to be forgiven for their life of sin. No one deserves to be with Jesus in paradise.

Are you sure you are ready to die? Can you say with confidence your sins are forgiven and if you were to die today that you would be in paradise with Jesus? This moment may be your last opportunity to be sure before you die. Don’t be a fool and pass up your opportunity to be ready to die.