Head: Know God’s Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God’s Way
Read Luke 23
Head
Today, we are going to learn about one of my favorite people in the Bible! You know what’s crazy? I don’t even know his name. Jesus had been taken by the soldiers, beaten up, and was hanging on the cross for you and for me, but Jesus wasn’t alone. Beside Him were two other people, referred to as thieves. Jesus was not like these other two people - Jesus was innocent. Jesus chose to go to the cross for you and for me because He loves us so much, but these thieves were not perfect; they had messed up and were being punished.
These two thieves were very different men; one was making fun of Jesus and calling Him names, but the other saw Jesus for who He really was, the Son of God. The thief saw that Jesus was innocent, Jesus was kind, and Jesus loved him. He simply asked, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus responded and said, “Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Heart
Even on the cross, Jesus was love. Even when Jesus was experiencing so much pain, He still wanted to encourage and help others. The thief saw this and wanted to be with Jesus forever. It didn’t matter what the thief had done to get himself on the cross; all that mattered was that he loved Jesus and wanted to spend forever with Him. And that’s exactly what Jesus wanted, too.
Hands
Prayer: Jesus, help us to look toward You and know that You are God. Even on days when we mess up or don’t feel super happy, remind us that You love us all the time. Thank You for Your love and thank You for being available.