By a show of hands, who loves waiting?
For anything?
Sometimes my husband and I wait 30-45 minutes for a table at our favorite restaurant. We wait in line at the gas pumps. At grocery stores and doctor’s offices. And don’t even get me started about how long the line is at Target’s return counter?
Seriously Target, if you’re reading this, PLEASE add more staff!!
Anyhooooo, if you’re like me, you’ll do anything you can to avoid waiting in lines. We live in a hurry up, want it now, cross it off the list kind of world. We are multi-tasking wizards, juggling chain saws while our hair is on fire. We want what we want and we want it NOW!
Scripture tells us to wait for the Lord. To be strong, take heart and wait. But there’s one guy who didn’t have to wait for the Lord at all! Can you guess who that is? It was one of the thieves hanging next to him on Calvary! Think about it!!! Better yet, read these familiar passages below…
“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him; “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today, you will be with me in paradise.” ~ Luke 23:39-43
When the thief recognized Jesus as God, acknowledged that he was guilty of his crime and asked Jesus to remember him when He entered into His kingdom.
Jesus didn’t hesitate!
He didn’t say, “Well, I would like to take you with me, but we need to talk about that nasty thing you did that got you up on that cross.”
He didn’t say, “Nice try, but you haven’t been baptized.”
He didn’t even say, “Let me mull that over and get back to you.”
I’ll paraphrase here…Jesus basically said “Today is your day, my friend! You and I are going to be celebrating in Heaven in a matter of minutes! Oh, and I can’t wait to introduce you to my awesome Dad!”
When we recognize Jesus as Lord and Savior, repent of our sins and surrender our life to Him, we are saved. Period. The End.
Step Right Up, No Waiting!
If you haven’t given your life to Jesus, or you feel it’s time to rededicate yourself to Him, know that He is waiting! Like the faithful Father of the Prodigal Son, He will be overjoyed to see you walking up the path toward Him. He will run out to meet you, embrace you as His own and plan a celebration that will blow your mind!!
Don’t wait any longer. I pray today is the day!
Psalm 27:14, Luke 23:39-43, Ephesians 3:20-21, Luke 15:11-32
