"Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43
"When we all get to heaven
what a day of rejoicing that will be
when we all see Jesus
we'll sing and shout the victory."
When We All Get to Heaven - lyrics by Eliza E. Hewitt
Jesus hangs on a cross between two criminals. One scoffs, the other praises. To the reverent one Jesus promises him that this very day he would be with Jesus in paradise. One can argue the literalness of this statement in conjunction with the Apostle's Creed's assertion that upon death Jesus descended into Hell, but that isn't what I would like to talk about.
No, I would like to talk about the 150 year (or so) old hymn lyric found above. It is a song about the other side [written by a woman suffering crippling pain]. It is a song about seeing Jesus face to fave and what that experience may be like.
I believe that we do not need to be dead in order to see Jesus. While we may not be able to look Jesus in the eye we can indeed see him. The reverent criminal saw Jesus, saw him for who he truly is and the same can be said for us. Or, we can be like the one who scoffed, look Jesus in the eye and still miss the truth staring at us.
If you've seen Jesus, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't may I suggest you look again.
+ Have you seen Jesus?
+ How has it changed you?
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