The Other Cross

The day that Jesus was crucified, there was two other men with him, one on each side of Him. Three men died that day. One was a righteous man and the other two were thieves. On one cross was the Son of God. On the other two crosses were men (sinners) guilty of death, as charged. On one cross was the man (God in the flesh) who was there to pay for the sins of others, the other two where there as a result of their sins.

The question to be asked is: Which one of the two thieves are you? On that very day as our Lord and Savior died on the old rugged cross one of the other two went to Heaven and the other went to Hell. Something happen when the one thief was hanging there on the cross. From his cross he could see the face of Jesus. He saw that Jesus was holy and innocent of the charges against Him. Then as he looked at the face of the other thief and saw he was a sinner and worthy of death. He stood for all the people who refused to believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World. The one thief said to the other thief :

"Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou are in the same condemnation? And we justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss" (Luke 23:40-41)

As the one thief hung there on the cross he realized and confessed that he was a sinner and deserved to die. He knew that he should go to hell. Conviction was heavy on his heart.

"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Jesus said to him: Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:42-43)

The thief put all his faith and trust in Jesus. He believed in the Lord and that is were he put his trust. Two sinners died that day. Each made their own choice. Near the cross, that day was, Mary, the mother of Jesus, the apostle John, and many others, but of the saints of God, that were there that day, he did not call on or turn to them for help. The sinner on that cross turned to Jesus, with nothing between his sin stained soul and the saving grace of Jesus. Also he did not cry out: "Oh, Holy mother of God, refuge of sinners, pray for me, I put my whole trust and confidence in the power of thy intercession." She was their at the foot of the cross, but the thief did not appeal to her or to no one but the Lord.

In this hour that we live in let us put our faith at the foot of the cross knowing that Jesus died there and shed His blood for us. We need to put our faith in Him today and not mother Mary, not a church or a preacher, not our country (we can all see how that is going), our jobs, or any other thing else. It is Jesus and Him crucified. On that solid Rock we must stand because all else is sinking sand! It was a finished work when Jesus died on the cross for us. The best thing that I ever did is when I gave my heart to the Lord!