Too Far Gone Never Arrives

This story would be unbelievable to me if it didn't so closely mirror my own story.

Out of all the ways God could have orchestrated salvation, he scripts a criminal's final breaths within arms reach of Jesus. Not in a temple. Not after years of seeking. Not after cleaning himself up. But in the middle of his worst moment.

We spend so much of our lives trying to get next to God, and yet, here is a criminal who could no longer move an inch - and God shows up on the cross right next to him.

And this criminal, he brings so little to the table. No glamorous resume. No transformation story. No proof he will live life differently. Just a sentence: "Remember me."

Luke: 23:39-43

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

There are so many messages God wrote into this story of Good Friday. Certainly the grandest is Jesus giving his life for me. Jesus knew he was doing that. But this criminal - he had no idea he was also dying for me.

Dying so that I might know it's never too late. That I am never too broken. That I am never ever too far gone. And maybe most importantly - I do not earn God's presence in my life; God just shows up.

This criminal, executed on a cross, he was surely believing it was the end. And without notice, God shows up right next to him and declares no one is ever too close to the end for me to show them it is only the beginning.

Some of the best options in our lives come when we believe we are completely out of options. Take that from someone who knows what it feels like to believe I've run out of options.

If you are inclined to believe you are too far gone, Good Friday is a reminder that too far gone never comes. You may feel like you're carrying the burden of a cross alone; if so, I encourage you to look at the cross next to you.

He is there.

He dies knowing the end is just the beginning. He longs for you to know it too.