The God Storyنموونە

Paradise Now

Father God, what I know of You will only ever be a fraction of who You are. Jesus, open my mind to see You and understand the Scriptures. Spirit, move my heart from familiar to fascinated until it is ablaze with Your unfailing love.

Read: Psalm 136:23-24,26

Jesus has spent three years demonstrating God’s love, forgiveness, and power and it’s all led Him to a cruel and painful death on a cross. Rejected and despised, He extends love and mercy to the very end…

Read: Luke 23:39-43

‘Jesus is crucified between two thieves. One… begins to mock Jesus while the other springs to his defence. Despite Jesus’ disfigured and tortured state, this thief can see the beauty of God hanging beside him… This criminal will soon close his eyes, drawing the curtains on a life filled with brokenness, sin, and regret. Yet when he next opens his eyes he will only see Jesus in glory. This is the gospel. It is never too late to say ‘yes’ to Jesus.’*

When did I say ‘yes’ to Jesus? Was it a single moment or a gradual realisation? As I remember my journey towards Jesus, I take a moment to express my gratitude.

Pause and pray

Jesus, I can’t read this passage and not think of the people I know and love who have yet to say ‘yes’ to You. Taking faith from the knowledge that it’s never too late and no one is a lost cause, I pray that they too will ‘see the beauty of God’ in You.

Pause and pray

I’m struck by the word paradise. One day I will join Jesus in heaven and the restored paradise of the new earth. I look forward to the day when all wars cease when all relationships are restored, when all tears are wiped away. And I thank God that I taste a little sliver of that reality today through the presence of His Spirit.

Jesus, paradise is wherever You are. Spirit of Jesus, I surrender to You. Fill me, and help me carry the paradise of Your presence to the people I will meet today.

Amen.

* Adam Cox and Alain Emerson, The God Story (London: SPCK, 2024), p. 164.