Monday, June 6, 2011

Which Criminal are You?

C.T. Studd once wrote, "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."

During the days of Lent, we usually give up meat, sweets, Facebook, alcohol, etc., and this is also a time for meditation for us as we think about our relationship with Christ. I took this time to give up a ton of things, and I spent time in meditation, but I believe I felt more spiritual growth towards the end than I did as I went through it. It was definitely a tough fifty days, but there is a sense of accomplishment when you finish something you began.

As the fifty days comes to a close, we remember the Passion Week. It begins with Palm Sunday which was the day of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, followed by Thursday's Last Supper, and coming to the climax of Good Friday with the greatest celebration of Easter Sunday of our Lord's glorious resurrection.

On Good Friday, we have three parts of Worship Service. There is no Holy Communion this day, but the first part is in English, and the remaining two parts are in Malayalam. A few weeks prior to Good Friday, I asked Noble Achen if I could speak on Good Friday. Noble Achen being the kind Achen that he is, graciously said yes.

During the days that followed, I spent reading the different passages about Jesus' crucifixion and everything that happened from Gethsemane to His death. I prayed asking God what I should speak about. I also read the passages that pertained to the theme that the Mar Thoma Church had set for that day. Initially, I thought I should speak about Peter, and his denials of Jesus, but I just didn't find comfort in that. Then, I reread the story of the two criminals in Luke 23:39-43. For some reason, when I read this passage, I felt moved by it. It convicted me. I began to ask myself, "Do I examine myself? Do I see myself as the first criminal or the second?" Many more questions arose in my head, and so I began to pray over that passage. Then, I clearly felt led by the Holy Spirit to preach on that. I began to create my sermon on that.

Not to go into the whole sermon or anything, but I figured I would ask you the reader some questions about this passage. Have you examined yourself to find out which criminal you are? We might jump and say that we're the second one who rebuked the first one and asked to be remembered by Christ. Sure, the first criminal did mock Jesus and question His authority as well as His innocence, but there is another aspect about the first criminal that I found when I read this passage. The first criminal wants to be physically saved or temporarily saved. He doesn't want that eternal salvation that Christ offers. Sometimes, we tend to desire to be saved for a short while. We want to be saved from that broken relationship, backbreaking job, sleepless schoolwork, or whatever else. The question is, do you want the eternal salvation or just be temporarily saved in those situations? That was the underlying factor between these two criminals.

As I type this post, I am about thirty three and a half hours from my flight to New York. I'm definitely excited, but I do feel a sense of nervousness. One thing is for sure, this will definitely help me examine myself. Sometimes, you must leave the place you've grown close with to realize just what it is that you have. As my dear friend reminded me today, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
-Luke 9:23 (NIV) 

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