Hanging with the Thieves Pt 1

Post New Year 2011


So, we're a little ways into 2011. Did you skip the typical New Year's resolution this year like I did?

Maybe it's just me, but the older I get, the less I expect things to actually change in and around my life. I mean, let's get real... I'm 40 years old. Statistics say, the person you are when you're 40 is basically the person you'll be from there on out. Or, at least you're not getting much better. Older, wrinklier, crotchety-er (is that a word?), and generally worse, yeah... those changes will happen. But the thought of actually becoming a better person? Come on, now...

So, really... what's the point of the New Year's resolution? I mean New Year's is an awesome opportunity. It's a do-over. A mulligan. A reboot. Who wouldn't want their Future to be drastically different from their past? Your future could be AWESOME! I know... right? Who wouldn't want to forget the past and move unhindered into the future? 

But what if your past was already awesome? Oh, snap!

The truth is that every New Year's, we rediscover something that has always been true, but we continually lose sight of... both the past and the future are thieves.

Living in the Past

I'm sure you've met them. There's two different kinds, and both are being robbed blind.

The Former Athlete

His high school narrow waist and broad mind may have since switched places. His hair might have mysteriously slid from atop his head back towards his shoulder which have sprouted hair all their own. But, he still has "The Game." The game when he ran for, caught or threw the winning touchdown. The game where he blocked or scored the winning shot. The game when he became King. But, this king is prisoner of his kingdom.

Since that moment of greatness, no moment has ever compared. Nothing he does can bring him back to the greatness of that moment. And so, he is stuck doing nothing... robbed blind by his past.

The Victim

Perhaps you know her. If you do know her, then you've definitely heard her story. The story of the gift she never received. The mother who controlled all she did. The father who drank too much. All the things that happened to her. All in the past. All with tentacles that decades later strangle her still. There is no denying the pain and tragedy these situations birthed into her life. But the pain continues long after the injuring is complete. So involved still in her past, her life is being stolen from her day by day.

The Past is a Thief

So, whether your past rocked, or your past was merely rocky, if it controls you... it's still a thief.

Living in the Future

Maybe you're not stuck in the past. Maybe you've got dreams. Maybe you've got plans. One thing you know for sure, you've got a future.

The Dreamer

Perhaps you know the Dreamer. He's been involved in every Network Marketing "opportunity" that hasn't yet been invented. He doesn't have much past to hold him down, because he hasn't ever really done anything. The one thing that he knows for sure is that when he hits the lottery, or when his invention gets picked up by Ronco, or when his manuscript (that he hasn't yet started to write) get's picked up by that major publisher... then he'll have arrived. Then, he'll buy that boat... pay cash for that car... buy those expensive shoes. He'll get there... someday. But someday is a stinking thief, and it's robbing him blind. 

The Planner


Or maybe you or one of your loved ones are a Planner. You've got it all figured out. You know what you're GPA will be when you graduate from High School. You know what college you will be attending, what fraternity/sorority you will bless with your presence. You know where you will be interning, what your 1st year's salary will be. Depending on your stage of life, you've already designed your house... know what your spouse will look like... how many kids you'll have. You know how much you need to save each year to buy the house you're planning on buying. Perhaps you know where your kids will go to school, where they'll go to college. Perhaps you've got their lives planned out as well. You know EVERYTHING about the future, but I'll guarantee your vision for the future has left you blind to today.


Hanging with the Thieves


The New Living Translation tells the story like this... The crowd watched, and the leaders laughed and scoffed. "He saved others," they said, "let him save himself if he is really God's Chosen One, the Messiah." The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" A signboard was nailed to the cross above him with these words: "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself--and us, too, while you're at it!"  But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you are dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the thick veil hanging in the Temple was torn apart. Then Jesus shouted, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!" And with those words he breathed his last. (Luke 23:35-46, NLT)


The Voice of the Past


Let's be real here. Do you think Jesus ever suffered from performance anxiety? I know the bible says that he "was tempted in every way." But, I mean, He was Jesus. He knew he was always gonna be able to pull through and perform.


Well, I can't speaks for HeyZeus, but I can speak for myself. In general, I'm a screw up. I'm not really good at anything. The little bit I have been able to accomplish is because I've lucked into it. Have you seen how beautiful my wife and kids are? I'm just saying...


The Voice of MY Past


Anyways, when I'm scared to death I'm not going to be able to accomplish something, when I'm facing a fierce deadline, or when I've got no choice but to move forward, when all I want to do is go back to bed and hide. The absolute LAST thing I need is for someone to remind me of the last time I blundered into something that actually kind of worked. I know they think they're being encouraging. But it's really not encouraging to remind me of how close I came to imminent disaster and worldwide destruction.


Now Jesus probably didn't have my issues. But I'm also sure the people around Him reminding Him of His past were probably not root-root-rooting Him on as they were watching him being crucified.


The Voice of Jesus' Past


No, their "Weren't you the one who fed 5,000 people...", "Didn't you perform all kinds of crazy miracles...", "And YOU were coming to save US?" comments were not designed to encourage and cheer Him on to success. They were taunts. The voices from the Past always are.


There is something else the voice from the Past always is, it's selfish. "So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself--and us, too, while you're at it!"


Hanging on one side of Jesus was a thief. The Voices from the Past are always there to steal from you. 

• You're just like your Father.
• You're as controlling as your Mom.
• Your best days are behind you.
• You're disqualified.
• You're too dirty.
• You've screwed up too many times.

No matter if it was good or it was bad, the Past is a thief who belongs in the past.

The Voice of the Future

Again, I can't speak much for Jesus. But if I was hanging on a wooden torture rack that I had been nailed to after being beaten, punched, kicked, my bears plucked out (which is why I keep it so short), whipped, and a bunch of thorns stabbed into my scalp in a mockery of a crown... the absolute last thing that I want to think about is what's coming next.

Again, thank GOD that I am not Jesus, or you all'd be in a mess of trouble.

But, Jesus, as usual, has His "game-face" on. He knows what's going on, and He will not be dissuaded. In answer to the 1st thief's taunts, we hear the 2nd thief trying a different attempt...

But the other criminal protested, "Don't you fear God even when you are dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn't done anything wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." 

Awwww, wasn't that just... I don't know... sweet?

Let's take a step backwards and find out what's really going on here...

Let's set the stage

Now, if I'm gonna give my life for the salvation of all mankind (that's a remarkably laughable idea), and I need to go through torture and my eventual murder in order to accomplish it, all I've got to do is stand still for a couple of seconds...

Jesus was waiting in the night, knowing they were about to come and take him. He'd thought it all through. If I was in His shoes (or sandals as the case may be), and Judas is leading a group of Roman soldiers and diving in for a memorable kiss.

All I've got to do is stand still for a couple of seconds. They'll grab me, they'll take me, and from there on out, it's all up to them.

Jesus didn't have it that easy.

The hard part about being the King of Kings and the Savior of all Mankind, is that you're always in charge. Even when you don't want to be.

Ticklish

Here's something my masculinity encourages me never to admit. I am insanely ticklish. I do, however, love to tickle my kids. Bad combination.

Sometimes, they decide that it's funny to try to tickle me back. Now, I'm a bigger guy. 6'2" 225lbs. When a little girl sticks her fingers in my ribs or tickles the back of my neck, it is seriously difficult to not go all Ed-Norton-Eric-Bana-Lou-Ferrigno on them and throw them through the wall.

The simple fact that I CAN physically dominate them means that I have a specific responsibility to NOT physically dominate them.

Strength REQUIRES control and gentleness.

Back to our Story

The torturers, the one holding the whip, the ones casting lots for His clothes, the soldiers, the one driving the nails through his feet. Not a single one of them were any more capable than a newborn baby in comparison to the Lion they were trying to control.

Jesus couldn't let His concentration slip for even a second. Lest He go all Jackie-Chan on them and kick some bootie. Just a single nod towards the sky and The God of The Angel Armies calls down the... armies of angels, and the earth is a wasteland.

The Voice of the Past is always a Distraction

And so, Jesus hangs there, and the voice of the future speaks, seemingly harmlessly, "Lord, remember me when..."

The future always seems harmless. Trustworthy. This is where you should be looking, where you should be concentrating... or so it seems.

Why then, would Jesus say, "Do not worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough troubles of it's own." Why? Because it's the TRUTH! (He kinda had a knack for that.)

Let me be clear, here. YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE FUTURE. Nothing. Except one thing. And that one thing was exactly what Jesus was focused on...

No, Jesus is not fooled by this "Confidence Man" hanging next to Him.

The Magic Word

Instead He speaks the one word that can unite the Past and the Future. The one word that redeems the past and enables the future.

With his arms stretched out, in one hand He grabs the Past. In the other hand he grabs the future. And He says the magic word.

"TODAY you will be with me in paradise!"

Maybe that seems anticlimactic. But every great truth is great because we all already know it. Today is all we've got. It is the only opportunity you have to do anything about the past or to prepare for the future.

Even as I type this, and even as you read this, today is becoming yesterday, and tomorrow is becoming today.

I've got a couple more things to talk to you about in this subject, and I think it's kind of crazy stuff... but we'll save that for next time...