We like to think that Jesus saves the good people. The church folks. Those who try really hard to be good. The thief on the cross next to Jesus on that fateful day is the proof that God doesn’t save people who deserve it.
God saves people who don’t deserve it. Mainly, because none of us “deserve” salvation.
This thief had nothing good to offer. Nothing to show that he was worth saving. Nothing to impress the “good people.” He’s the guy everyone dismissed. He had no second chances left. This man was: guilty, vulgar, brutal, broken. The justice system had ruled. His sentence was final. His blood would be shed before sundown.
This event is not sanitized. That’s what makes the men in this story such gripping characters.
The criminal on the other side of Jesus didn’t ask. He died mocking the only hope he had.
However, the thief saw his life flash before him: the broken homes, the blood on his hands, the cries of those he stole from. He couldn’t undo any of it.
But Jesus could forgive all of it.
This thief… this nobody… this man with no legacy and no good reputation… had just enough faith to say one thing:
“Jesus, remember me…”
Jesus didn’t say, “It’s too late.”
He said, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
And that’s all it took.
Grace is never about what you do – it’s always about what Jesus did.
The thief’s story reminds us: no one is too far gone.
Not the drug addict. Not those battling the shame from a decades-old choice. Not the parent who abandoned his/her family. Not the teen buried under anxiety or depression. Not the angry, not the apathetic, not the self-righteous, not the bitter.
Not even me. Not even you.
There’s something that happens when you finally hit bottom.
When the mask slips, the lies don’t work, and the people you leaned on disappear. When the money’s dried up, the spotlight’s gone, and the pain is louder than the noise.
You realize – you’re not capable of saving yourself.
This is not a tragedy. It’s a triumph.
The cross thunders back: “It is finished!”
You can spend years running from God, from truth, from righteousness. And when you finally stop running – you will find that Jesus had been walking beside you the whole time, waiting for the moment you would turn toward Him.
This event reminds us of the scandal of grace. Heaven isn’t a reward for the “good” – it’s a gift for the guilty who believe.
This isn’t just his story – it’s your story, and it’s my story.
You’re not the Savior. You’re the thief.
But you can still turn.
And when you do, you find the same pierced Savior, still whispering the same promise: “Today…”
Right now.
Not after you fix it all. Not once you’ve earned it. Not once you’ve cleaned up your mess.
Today.
Don’t wait. Don’t gamble eternity on pride. Don’t be the one who dies near Jesus but never knows Him.
Be the one who believed.
Be the one who asked.
Be the one who made it home – not because you were worthy, but because you were willing.
Even now.
Even you.
Something to think and pray about.
With Thanks to Kevin McCullough. No One Is Too Far Gone – Not Even Me. Townhall, 17 April 2025
