Jesus, Remember Me

Life is not meant to be travelled alone. If we don’t already know that life can be tough, we will find out eventually. I try my best to help lead my children in the right direction, but as many parents know, kids don’t always listen. God also tries to lead His children in the right direction, but we don’t always listen to God. We may think that we know what’s best for us and so we go our own way. When we do fall and mess up, we sometimes try to fix it ourselves or ignore the problem and end up suffering more.

As Jesus was dying on the cross, one criminal hanging next to Him was rebuking Him and another was begging for forgiveness. One criminal was trying to get Jesus to solve His own problems and save Himself. The other, realizing that he had sinned, knew that he was in over his head and couldn’t fix it himself. We need to remember to ask for help from others and especially from God.

We hurt ourselves every time we sin. Sin wounds our soul and when we ignore the wound or try to treat it ourselves, it can become infected and grow worse. Last year, when I was developing a pain in my side, I thought about ignoring it and just hoping that it would heal on its own. I’m glad that I called my doctor and got it looked at, because it ended up being an issue with my appendix. If I would have ignored it, it could have burst and caused a lot more serious problems. By seeking help from my doctor, I am healthy again. We also need to present our wounds, our sins, and problems to Jesus and ask for healing and help.

As the criminal lay on the cross, he showed faith by asking Jesus to remember him when He comes into His kingdom. Jesus rewarded the man’s faith by saying, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” There are many people who the Church believes are in Heaven and we call these people saints. This man, who was once a criminal, is one of the only people we know without a doubt is in Heaven. We know this because Jesus said so. How much more comforting would death be if we knew we were going to Heaven. Ask Jesus for forgiveness and help and we will be comforted in our own death as well.