Luke 23:40-41 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

How utterly refreshing! Enduring incredible agony, this man still recognized that he was only getting what he had asked for by his actions. That is so rare! When, immediately after this, he addressed Jesus as Lord, it’s no wonder that Jesus accepted him as fit for the kingdom of heaven! We are so prone to justify ourselves in so many ways, declining to accept responsibility for our actions and blaming everything on circumstances, parents, or whatever. Upbringing does have a huge influence on us, and irresponsible parents indeed cause much if not most of society’s ills, but each individual still bears responsibility, because excuses run out of steam. This man could have blamed his parents, he could have blamed the Roman occupation, he could have blamed income inequality or any number of currently fashionable excuses. Instead, he said, “I did wrong and I’m getting the payback from that.” One of the most important verses in the whole Bible is Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The problem is, we don’t want to accept that we deserve death. I once heard an evangelist say that only Jesus could save people; his job was to get them lost! Actually, he meant that his job was to get people to understand that they were lost, and that is still true today for everyone who seeks to evangelize. No one is going to accept the gift of God (Romans 6:23) until they understand that they need it, and actually, we can’t receive it until we acknowledge that we don’t deserve it! Gifts are fundamentally undeserved blessings, but we are so prone to think we deserve them. This man on the cross beside Jesus knew full well that he didn’t deserve better than he was getting, and in all humility he asked Jesus to remember him. That’s what brings salvation!

I am frequently reminded of how I wandered in stupid pride for so many years, but the issue now is how I get others to recognize their need of salvation. Current Japanese culture is devoid of Christian roots, so the evangelism methods I studied in seminary have been largely ineffective. In America, people might ignore it, but they do understand what a billboard that says, “Prepare to meet your God,” is talking about. In Japan, their first question would be, “What god are you talking about?” There is little cultural recognition of an omnipotent Creator before whom we must give an account of what we have done with the time and resources He has given us. I’ve got to help people understand not only that He is, but also that He cares about them. That’s a huge stretch! By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit it is possible, and it does happen, but it’s clearly something that is totally beyond my ability. That’s why I can never take credit for anyone’s salvation. However, I must hold myself in constant readiness for God to use me, because I’ve seen Him do it, and the results are glorious.

Father, thank You for the privilege of serving You. Thank You for the spiritual warfare we could do yesterday, and for the specific evangelistic opportunities we have for the next three days. I pray that many would indeed have the eyes of their hearts opened, to see themselves, see you, repent and believe for their salvation, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!