"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 23:42-43.
This scripture shows us one of the greatest miracles described in the Bible. Jesus hung on the cross with two criminals beside Him, one on the right, and one on the left. All three men had a few hours left to live. There are some people standing close to the site and they are mocking Jesus. One criminal that is beside Jesus is doing the same. It looks like nobody sees who Jesus really is. Nobody is feeling guilty. Everybody feels self-righteous, even the blaspheming criminal who is about to die.
But wait. What about the other criminal that hangs on the other side? He feels the burden of his crime. He understands what he has done and knows that he is worthy to be punished this way. Yet, eh also sees that Jesus is not a criminal, but a righteous person, unjustly punished. He calls Jesus "Lord". And asks for forgiveness. What happens? In a split of a second he is forgiven. When he dies, he will be accepted in Heaven. Can you believe that? One moment, a person is a murderer, another moment he becomes a child of God. And the doors of Heaven are open for him. This shows how powerful God's forgiveness is. Furthermore, when God forgives, not only sins are forgiven, a personality is transformed. If that were not the case, nobody could enter Heaven, as Heaven is a holy place and no murderer (or any other kind of sinner) can enter it. Let's embrace Jesus forgiveness. Let it change us inside out. The transforming power of His forgiveness is the greatest miracle of all!
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