“Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.'”
(Luke 23:42)
“Lord, remember me.”
These words were spoken by one of the thieves who hung on a cross beside Jesus during His crucifixion. The word, remember, actually means “consider me or think about me”. “Lord, consider me when You come into Your kingdom. I want to be there with you.”
But let’s dissect the word a little bit. What if we put a hyphen in the middle of it? Re-member. “Lord, re-member me when You come into Your kingdom. Put me back together again, Lord. I am broken in a million places, my mind is in turmoil, my body is weary.”
I realize that’s not what the thief was saying because Jesus had not yet been resurrected. The work of redemption was not yet finished. BUT, for us, it is complete. So…consider. Are you broken? Do you need the Lord to put you back together again?
Corrie ten Boom writes in her devotional, Each New Day, about a story that took place in Russia. “In Russia, many people lived in a certain apartment house. The basement of the house was filled with the junk of all the families. Amongst the junk was a beautiful harp, which nobody had been able to fix.
“One snowy night, a tramp asked if he could sleep in the building. The people cleared a space for him in the corner of the basement, and he was happy to stay there.
“In a little while, the people heard beautiful music coming from the basement. The owner of the harp rushed downstairs and found the tramp playing it. ‘But how could you repair it? We couldn’t,’ he said.
“The tramp smiled and replied, ‘I made this harp years ago, and when you make something, you can also repair it.'”
Sweet friend, nothing is too difficult for God – NOTHING! Our God is able! He is mighty to save – powerful. He is a wonder-working God.
And He loves His children dearly.
Run to Him and declare His goodness. Give Him your broken places, your abundance of tears that flow like a river tumbling endlessly across the barrenness of your soul. He knows you like no other and He stands ready to help you.
Receive His love today, won’t you?
Father, We all need to be reminded of this precious truth, but deep in my spirit I believe this is a word for someone in particular, someone you wish to restore to wholeness. I don’t know who this sweet child is, but You do, Lord. Hold them close Father. Fill the broken places with the Balm of Gilead, with the soothing caress of Your Holy Spirit. Put them back together again. Thank You, Lord. We give You praise.
WOW! I can really relate to this. I've been there so many times! I'm still in the "repair shop", actually. There are so many broken pieces within me. Hurts that run very very deep.
The greatest challenge in my faith has been to really come to grips with the fact that God the Father loves me and accepts me just as I am TODAY. Because I can see SO many imperfections… so much remaining sin, even evil. 'May be He'll love me tomorrow, when I'm cleansed of this garbage. But today? No, not even almighty God can love me with this…'
Have you been there? Ever felt, 'I'm too bad, too sinful for God to love and accept me'?
That's why my most heartfelt prayer throughout these years has been, SHOW me how much you love me. CONVINCE my heart. REALLY TELL me Jesus died for ME. PIERCE my heart to the core with that truth.
Oh grace is so overwhelmingly, amazingly, incomprehensibly awesome! How come I still operate on a trying-to-earn-God's-favor mode sometimes? How come I still have doubts when I fall into sin?
As a one year old baby who has only one word in her vocabulary, I cry out ABBA! Father!
I need that healing touch!
Carina, you are so precious! I love your transparency. I think we all wrestle with understanding how the Lord could love us so deeply, so completely. His love is not our love. Its purity is beyond our comprehension. But your honesty draws Him to you. You honor Him with Your love and your desire to know Him more. Bless you, sweet sister.