The day that Jesus hung on the cross, he had a conversation with the criminal beside him. He told that man, who admitted his sin, and acknowledged Jesus' authority, the he would be with him in paradise.
Yesterday's shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas really shook me up. As violence pours out in our country this fall, I feel shocked, disgusted and worried. I can't stop thinking of the pastor and his wife. We know that their 14 year old daughter was one of the victims. I imagine that, as a parent, you'd be more worried about where your teenage daughter spent her Saturday night than her Sunday morning. The last thing you would expect is for evil to rip apart your world while your child sits in the house of God.
I told Andy last night, that hearing about these things makes me not want to go anywhere. He was quick to remind me that God hasn't given us a spirit of timidity. He's right, but.. my babies...
I wrestled with these thoughts in the wee hours, while I rocked Grey a while longer than I usually do. That's when I thought of Jesus telling the thief he would be in "paradise." Today, I am grateful for that word, and that real place that Jesus promised the thief- and promises everyone who repents and believes. What a word of hope in the final moment of life. Paradise- we don't know what exactly Jesus has in store in this paradise he speaks of, but it's a good word, isn't it? An elaborate word. It conjures images of sandy beaches and pristine waters. Warm sun and no pain. I don't know that Jesus' paradise looks quite like the Jimmy Buffet version I tend to think of, but I know it's good. And I know that those believers who were gunned down yesterday were instantaneously there. In Paradise, with the King.
Focusing on this word this morning doesn't diminish the pain caused by the evil that overcame good yesterday, but it is an effort for good to overcome evil, which is what God desires. Today, I am grief-stricken over the hell on Earth the congregation of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs is facing. But I rejoice with them that paradise now holds those saints whose lives we grieve the loss of today.
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