You can be as “lucky” as the penitent criminal was, although the Bible teaches that salvation is not a matter of luck. Salvation is a matter of God giving his grace. You can receive that grace. You can meet Jesus at the cross the way the penitent criminal did. But you have to admit that you are sinful and confess that Jesus is sinless. You have to ask Jesus for the eternal, personal salvation that he offers.

The thief on the cross had to be the luckiest man alive. He was nothing more than a lowlife criminal, a loser. He had com- mitted a crime. He was convicted for it, and he was crucified for it. So he had no future; he was going nowhere; or, worse, he was going to hell. Yet of all the criminals, on all the crosses, on all the hills in the Roman Empire, he was crucified next to Jesus Christ.
Just before he died, just before he plunged into the abyss of eternity, at the last possible instant, he received the gift of eternal life. If he had died on any other cross, at any other time, in any other place, he would have been forgotten forever. But he did not die on any other cross, at any other time, in any other place. He died at the Place of the Skull, outside Jerusalem, on a cross right next to the cross Jesus died on. Because he died on that cross, he was able to ask for eternal life and hear the beautiful words that Jesus spoke from the cross: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” He not only heard those words—he went to heaven that very day and has been there ever since.
If that sounds pretty lucky, you can be just as “lucky.” That penitent thief did not get anything from Jesus that you cannot get from him. You can meet Jesus at the cross the same way he did. You do not even have to be crucified for your troubles. But you do have to do three things this bandit did.
Facing Up to Sin
First, you have to admit you are a sinner. Salvation is for sinners. By sinner, I mean someone who lives life in rebellion against God. That rebellion includes everything you might think of as sin—like lying, stealing, adultery, and hypocrisy—and a few things you might not think of—like impatience, greed, pride, unforgiveness, and prayerlessness.
You might think it would be easy for a convicted criminal, dying on a cross, to admit that he is a sinner living in rebellion against God. Not so. There were two criminals who were crucified with Jesus, one on either side of him, but only one of them repented. The other criminal refused to admit he was a sinner. The Bible says, “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at [Jesus]: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’” (v. 39). There was no way he was going to admit he had done anything wrong. He was the kind of man who always looks for someone who is in worse shape than he is, someone he can kick when he is down. Even when he was dying a death by slow torture, he took advantage of his opportunity to pour abuse on the Savior of the world.
It is not easy for sinners to admit that they are sinners. It can be the hardest confession a sinner ever makes. We usually try to make ourselves feel better by finding someone who is worse than we are so we do not have to deal with our own guilty consciences. The minds of sinners are confused. They cannot see clearly into their own hearts. They do not realize how rebellious they are. They do not understand how much God hates sin.
That is what makes the confession of the penitent criminal, the criminal who became Jesus’s friend, so amazing. He said to the unrepentant criminal who was hurling insults at Jesus, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.” He admitted he was a sinner. He admitted that it was right for him to die for his sins. He admitted that his crucifixion was only a matter of getting his just deserts.
He also admitted that his sins were an offense against God, not just an offense against humanity. Dying on a cross put the fear of God into him. It should have, because a sinner who lives in rebellion against God ought to be afraid of God. Your own con- science will tell you that you ought to be afraid of God . . . if you listen to it. This man listened to his conscience, and he was moved to admit that he was a sinner who deserved to die for his sins. He knew that he deserved not only a physical death at the hands of Rome, but also a spiritual death at the hands of God.
You cannot take your sins with you to paradise. If you want to go there, you have to admit that you are a sinner and thus take the first step to having them removed through faith in Christ.
Confessing That Jesus Is Sinless
You will also have to confess that Jesus was not a sinner. That is the second thing the penitent criminal did: he confessed that Jesus is the perfect Son of God. “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41). Even though he himself was a sinner, he could tell that Jesus Christ was sinless. It was obvious to him that Jesus had done nothing wrong.
He seems to have figured that out while he was dying on his own cross. Remember the first thing Jesus said on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
The penitent criminal heard those words, and he must have been moved by the forgiving heart of God that was revealed in Jesus’s prayer. He rightly concluded that a man who could pray for his enemies like that must be a perfect man.
In any case, what the penitent criminal said about Jesus was true. Jesus was innocent. He was illegally incarcerated, falsely accused, wrongfully convicted, and unjustly executed. It was the greatest miscarriage of justice the world has ever known. Study the teachings of Jesus, and you will see how good and true all his words were. Examine the biography of Jesus, and you will see how right and perfect all his actions were. The more you get to know Jesus, the clearer it becomes that he was the perfect Son of God. You must confess that Jesus is sinless if you want to get to paradise.
Asking for What Jesus Offers
There is one more thing you must do, and that is ask for the salvation Jesus offers. One of the remarkable things about Luke’s history of the two criminals crucified with Jesus is that both of them asked for salvation. Have you ever noticed this? “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at [Jesus]: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’” This man met Jesus Christ face to face at the cross; he asked for salvation, and he did not receive it! That fact should terrify us. It is possible to meet Jesus at the cross and fail to receive salvation!
How is that possible? Both thieves were bad men, and they both asked for salvation. So why didn’t they both receive salvation? How can it be that only one thief went to paradise?
For one thing, the unrepentant criminal was not sincere when he asked for salvation. He was insulting Jesus, abusing him with sarcasm. “Aren’t you the Christ?” he sneered. He was asking Jesus for salvation with his lips, but he was not trusting Jesus for salvation in his heart. He did not accept Jesus as King.
But there was another problem with his request. He was not asking for the salvation that Jesus actually offers. “Save yourself and us!” he said. That is to say, “Climb down off that cross and get me out of this mess!” He was not asking for eternal life so much as he was trying to save his skin. He was not trying to get salvation for his soul in the life to come; he was only trying to get protection for his body in the here and now.
Jesus could have delivered that criminal from the cross, of course, but he had more important things to do, like paying for the sins of his people, winning a permanent victory over death, and opening up the pathway to eternal life.
The penitent criminal who became Jesus’s friend and was invited to paradise must have understood some of these things because he did just the opposite of what the unrepentant criminal did: he asked Jesus for the salvation Jesus actually offers. He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
The penitent thief was asking for an eternal salvation. He was asking for something from Jesus in the future, asking that Jesus would remember him when he came into his kingdom. He was not asking to be delivered from the temporary and momentary troubles of this life. He was asking for a lasting and permanent salvation.
The penitent thief also seems to have understood that he would have to wait for that salvation until Jesus had finished his business on the cross. Jesus could not have saved anyone if he had climbed down from the cross. That was part of the unrepentant criminal’s problem: he wanted Jesus to leave the cross. But Jesus had to stay on the cross to win salvation. He had to die first before he could save anybody. Only after he had finished dying for sins could he offer salvation.
The penitent thief was also asking for a personal salvation. Notice how he addressed the man next to him on the cross. He called him “Jesus.” That is not found anywhere else in the Gospels.
Usually people addressed Jesus as “Teacher” or “Master.” But this man, convicted criminal that he was, addressed Jesus intimately by his first name. He talked to him in a personal way because he was asking him for a personal salvation.
That is the kind of salvation to ask for because it is exactly the kind of salvation Jesus offers. When we hear what Jesus said on the cross to this penitent criminal, we think the important word is “paradise.” It is true that Jesus has gone to prepare a place in heaven for every sinner who repents (see John 14:1–6), but salvation is not really about paradise. What Jesus offers is better than paradise. He offers intimacy with himself. “Today you will be with me,” Jesus said. Being with Jesus is what makes paradise paradise. As that penitent criminal hung on his own cross, he finally found the personal relationship he had been waiting for his whole life—a personal, intimate love relationship with the living God.
You can have the same thing. You can be as “lucky” as the penitent criminal was, although the Bible teaches that salvation is not a matter of luck. Salvation is a matter of God giving his grace. You can receive that grace. You can meet Jesus at the cross the way the penitent criminal did. But you have to admit that you are sinful and confess that Jesus is sinless. You have to ask Jesus for the eternal, personal salvation that he offers. When you do, Jesus will give you the same answer he gave to the criminal: “I tell you the truth, . . . you will be with me in paradise.”
This is an excerpt taken from the reprinted edition of the book The Heart of the Cross by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken. Originally published in 1999 by Crossway. Reprinted in 2022 by P&R Publishing in hardcover. Printed with permission.
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We do not read to make ourselves feel good, or to be better than other members at church. We read because it’s good for our souls, and it serve our hearts delight. If you find yourself being discouraged because others read more than you, remember that people have different dispositions and preferences. Some people(me) are just nerdier than the rest, and find constant reading to be a joy. Comparison will not be able to sustain the desire to read more, only joy can. Recognize that the reason you should read more is because it is good, important, and healthy. 
I love reading. It is my single favorite hobby to do in life. Those who know me best, will regularly hear me discussing something I am currently reading, or have recently read. As people have come to know me as an avid reader, I often hear the same sentiment- “I wish I read more”. I find myself regularly encouraging others in ways to grow as a reader, and in turn, read more than they do now. Reading is a joyful endeavor, and I love seeing people grow in their love and appreciation for good books. I will share below a number of different pieces of advice I find myself often sharing with others. I hope these serve you well – Tolle Lege!
Learn To Read
This first tip is not meant to be insulting, or belittling. The reality is, most people do not know how to read well. More than simply identifying words and rushing through pages, reading requires prolonged, critical engagement with thoughts and arguments. Every author is making an argument to you, and the reader needs to be able to engage with the authors flow of thought and the development of his/her argument. This takes time, and is a skill worth learning well. Reading is a very active experience. There are also different ways to read a book, at different levels of engagement. You can check out the famous book, How to Read a Book, by Mortimer Adler, to get you started.
Read What Interests You
Often, when somebody wants to grow as a reader, they think they need to begin by jumping into major works, on subjects they “ought” to be interested in. In my context, I meet individuals often who say they want to grow as a reader, and immediately think that means they should take on Herman Bavinck’s 4 volume Reformed Dogmatics. While such reading might work out for them, often, new readers would be best served starting small, and in areas where they find genuine interest in. Do you like baseball? Read a book on baseball  you find intriguing. Do you think history is kind of cool? Go pick up a good book on a compelling era of history. There is no need to get going on a 1,500 page work by a major theologian if you’re going to drop out after 20 pages. Read fiction. Read good, compelling books on the christian life from the best authors (C.S. Lewis, Kevin DeYoung, etc). I constantly find myself reading books on Theology, American History, Winston Churchill, Economics, and the New England Patriots, because that drives my passion for reading. Reading books you are interested in will make you a better reader, develop more interests that you can read up on, and give you momentum for tackling bigger books.
Build Momentum with a Reading Snowball
There is something about finishing books which builds momentum. When you close the back cover on a book you’ve just spent days engaging with, you want to pick up the next one and keep going. I find it helpful, for newer readers to pick up smaller books, which they will be able to actually finish, rather than massive tomes which they may burn out on quickly. As you finish off books that are in the ~100 page range, it will encourage you, and equip you to take on books that closer to ~200 pages. As the momentum grows, your ability to take on more will build as well. I could never have imagined taking on books of 800+ pages when I was in college, but now, they don’t seem daunting to me (in fact, I love them!). Even if you don’t end up reading major works, finishing off books will help keep you in the flow of reading.
Quit Bad Books…But Not Too Fast
What happens if you find yourself reading a book, and it is just absolutely dull? We don’t want to waste too much of our precious time on bad books, and let’s be honest, there are a lot of bad books. One blogger made the sad, but true observation that we will not have time in our short lives to read everything we would like to. Therefore, we need to prioritize what we read, and be willing to move on from bad books that only waste time for good books. I learned a rule on when to quit bad books which I find helpful. The rule goes like this – Take 100, and subtract your age. That is how many pages you must read of a book before you can quit it. This keeps you from quitting too fast(some books just take time to get going) and allows you to quit before you’ve spent too much time on it. At the time of this writing, I now give every book 70 pages before I quit. This rule has paid off both ways, both in keeping my in good books which started slow, and allowing me to ditch bad books not worth my time.
Buy More Books
Some people think the best way to buy books, is only to buy them as you are able to read them. This may be very financially responsible, but it actually limits how many books you end up reading. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, shared his recommendations with a group of pastors at a local conference. He said “if you wait to buy books for only when you’re going to read them, you’re going to miss out on a lot of good books”(paraphrase). I think he is right. If you we’re to tally up the most important books in my life, most of them were books I had owned for several years.

He chose to bear our sin, to become our sin, so that we may receive mercy. His nail-scarred hands and blood-stained brow testify that our penalty was not simply erased but was paid in full. Because of that payment, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Without his sacrifice, mercy would be unattainable, but because of it, we may now confidently approach the throne of grace, appealing for mercy on the merit of his work rather than our own. 

There are moments in life that remain with you long after they’ve passed. These are benchmarks. Life-altering events that you could never forget, like the birth of a child or the loss of a loved one. Other times, they happen in your car on a normal Thursday on your way to work.
I can vividly remember pulling out of my driveway a few years ago, angry and frustrated. I’d lost my patience with my children, spoken too harshly to them, but I wasn’t upset with them in that moment. I was the problem. I would repent and apologize, as I had so often done in the past (and have plenty of times since). I was frustrated that I had once again succumbed to my flesh. I was beyond conviction, and had begun settling in the territory of shame. I didn’t feel as though I deserved my children’s forgiveness, much less God’s. But as I drove on, my hands wringing the steering wheel, the Lord began to call to mind my recent study of the life of David, a man who had faced more than his share of life-changing experiences.
There have been few people in history more admired than King David. He was the answer to his people’s prayers and the object of their admiration. He’d slayed the giant as a shepherd with nothing but stones. He’d evaded death at the hands of Saul with little more than cunning. He’d ruled over Israel with heartfelt compassion. And he’d worshiped his God with a humble heart.
But David was still a man, and as with all mankind, a war raged within him. Temptation crouched at his doorstep, and in weakness, he welcomed it in. Sin begets sin, and David’s adultery led to murder and lies and attempted cover-ups. Finally, after being confronted by the prophet Nathan, he bears his soul to God.

Have mercy on me, O God,according to your steadfast love;according to your abundant mercyblot out my transgressions. (Ps. 51:1)

The king goes on to confess the severity of his sin while appealing to God as the only source of deliverance, and that appeal is rooted in God’s abundant mercy. Of God’s magnificent attributes, there may be none more astonishing than his mercy toward sinners.
We tend to have a poor understanding of mercy, because it’s so difficult for our finite minds to grasp why an infinitely holy God would withhold punishment where it is justly due. Our propensity is to appreciate and even demand justice until our own case appears on the docket. My own impatience and anger are rooted in pride, a sinful response to recognizing I don’t have the control I so desperately desire. I can forgive myself the first time, but the fifth? The fifteenth? The hundredth? God, of course, is not like us. His very character, while perfectly just, is also exceedingly patient, gracious, and loving.
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