LORD, REMEMBER ME

“One of the thieves, who was hanging next to the Christ, heaped verbal abuse on Him.


‘Aren't You pretending to be the Anointed One? Everyone is waiting for You to save yourself. And while you’re at it, how about saving us?’


“The other criminal, however, challenged his fellow transgressor with the words, 


‘Have you no fear of God, even while you are enduring the same penalty as this righteous man? You know we deserve it, but this man is not only innocent of the crime for which He is accused, but He has never done anything wrong at all!’

"Now the thief who spoke these words looked at Jesus, and made a request,


‘Savior, please don’t forget me when you are seated on your throne in heaven.’


“And Jesus answered him.


‘I will tell you the absolute truth. This very day I will make a place for you in paradise.’” (Excerpt, Luke 23. McDonald Paraphrase)


I have been thinking a lot about this scripture passage lately, and the very personal way in which it applies to you and me.


As long as I remember, my father was an agnostic. Oh, he was a good man. A very good man. But he struggled with the unfairness of life. How, after all, could a righteous God allow children to be kidnapped and abused? How could a decent and loving Creator allow people to starve to death in Africa?


Pt. 2


In the latter years of my father’s life, I would sometimes talk with him about the ultimate fate of his immortal soul. As a believer, of course I was concerned that he inherit the same eternal reward which Jesus won for everyone who would, will, and will eventually call upon his name.


However, each and every time I spoke to my dad, he would always raise those same old questions about God’s fairness, and his belief that, 


“Of course, there is a God. You only have to look into the sky, and gaze upon the stars. But I don’t think He has time for us. At least, He never cared two cents about me.”


I remember my mother once told me that daddy was so disappointed when I gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ that he quit the Masons. And it was apparently about this time that he no longer attended church with my mom.


Of course, all good things come to an end, and none of us can stay here, and the day came when my father sustained a stroke; which would eventually pave the way for his demise. (Odd, I have a video of his retirement party, and the date stamp is December 30, 1991. Twenty years later, to the very day, Daddy fell, and hit his head on a coffee table).


My father spent three weeks in the hospital, two weeks at home, and another three weeks in a rehabilitative center; during which time our pastor visited him a couple times a week.


I have spoken to Pastor Kern about his visits with my dad, and whether he expressed any interest in spiritual things. And while our minister made me aware that he did not explicitly say the Sinner’s Prayer, what he did say was, at least to me, very enlightening.


Pt. 3


“I would pray at the end of our visits together, and more than once your father would say, ‘Preacher, you’re the best pray-er I ever heard!’”

You remember that passage with which I began this story?


“Now, the thief who spoke these words looked at Jesus, and made a request. 


‘Savior, please don’t forget me when you are seated on your throne in heaven.’


“And Jesus answered him.


‘I will tell you the absolute truth. This very day I will make a place for you in paradise.’” (Excerpt, Luke 23. McDonald Paraphrase)


Somehow, I think it was a lot like that with the pastor and my dad. I kinda think my father’s statement at the end of their time together was, in essence, “proof of life.” (eternal life).


I believe that during one of those pastoral visits, my father came to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.


I think sometimes we make this thing a bit too hard. After all, if the thief on the cross merely said, “Lord, don’t forget me,” I believe my daddy’s simple words were as equally full of faith. And I am persuaded that the very expression of them implied a distinct change of heart and mind.


I believe we will be surprised and overjoyed to see people we knew in this life on the other side; whom we never expected to see there.


I hope to see my father in heaven. I not only believe I will… I am convinced of it.


Perhaps he’ll be standing next to the thief, that sinful man whose heart God had touched, and who in his waning moments asked our Lord not to forget him.

by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending