Living the Message

Today, we read Luke 23:32-49 and Pastor Amy talked about when Jesus told one of the criminals next to Him on the cross, "I tell you the truth, today, you will be with me in paradise." This might make us think of the parable in Matthew 20 in which a landowner paid the same amount (a denarius) to the man who only worked for the last hour as the man who worked for him all day. Jesus has a different view of getting what we deserve. God wants us all to live with Him in paradise, but none of us deserve it. We can't earn it or buy it. It is only by believing in Jesus' life and death that we can deserve this paradise.