The only thing more outlandish than the request was that it was granted. Just trying to picture the scene is enough to short-circuit the most fanciful of imaginations; a flat nosed ex-con asking God’s son for eternal life? But try to imagine the appeal being honored, well, that steps beyond the realm of reality and enters absurdity.
But as absurd as it may appear, that’s exactly what happened. He who deserved hell, got heaven, and we are left with a puzzling riddle. What, for goodness` sake, what was Jesus trying to prove by pardoning this strong-arm, who in all probability had never said grace, much less done anything to deserve it.
If man has no duty or destiny, the next logical step is that man has no value. If a man has no future, he isn’t worth much. He is worth, in fact, about as much as a tree or a rock. No difference. There is no reason to be here, therefore, there is no value!
We say that you are valuable if you can produce. We say that you are valuable if you can slam-dunk a basketball or snag a pop fly. You are valuable if your name has a “Dr.” in front of it or a Ph. D. on the end of it. You are valuable if you have a six-figure salary and drive a foreign car. Value is now measured by two criteria, appearance and performance!
Pretty tough system, isn’t it? Where does that leave the retarded? Or the ugly or uneducated? What hope does that offer the unborn child? Not much! Not much at all! We become nameless numbers on mislaid lists. Now, please understand, this is man’s value system. It is NOT God’s!!! His plan is much brighter!
In God’s book man is heading somewhere. He has an amazing destiny. We are going to live with Him. Reign with Him. We count! We ARE valuable! And what’s more, our worth is built in! Our value is INBORN!!!
You see, if there was anything that Jesus wanted everyone to understand it was this: A person is worth something simply because he is a person! And don’t forget the classic case study on the value of a person by Luke. It is called “The Tale of the Crucified Crook.”
If anyone was ever worthless, this one was. If any man ever deserved dying, this man probably did. If any fellow was ever a loser, this fellow was at the top of the list. Perhaps that is why Jesus choose him to show us what he thinks about the human race.
“Any chance that you could put in a good word for me?”(loose translation)
“Consider it done”
Now why did Jesus do that? What in the world did he have to gain by promising this desperado a place of honor at the banquet table? I mean, the Samaritan women I can understand. She could go back and tell the tale. Zacheus, he had some money that he could give. But this guy? What is going to do? NOTHING!!!
THAT`S THE POINT!!! Listen closely. Jesus` love does not depend upon what we do fore Him. Not at all. In the eyes of the King, you have value simply because you are. You don’t have to look nice or perform well. Your value is INBORN!
Period.
Think about that just a minute. You are valuable just because you exist! T he next time when someone tries to pass you off as a cheap buy, just think about the way Jesus honors you…and smile!
I do. I smile because I know I don’t deserve love like that. None of us do. When you get right down to it, any contribution that any of us make is pretty puny.
And it also makes me smile to think that there is a grinning ex-con walking the golden streets who knows more about GRACE than thousand theologians. No one else would have given him a prayer. But in the end that is all that he had. And in the end, that is all it took.
My Redeemer Lives!....and so do I
