“Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’” Luke 23:42-43
In one of the most thrilling finishes in marathon history, American runner Nathan Martin chased down the leader in the final stretch of the Los Angeles Marathon. With sheer determination, he closed the gap on Michael Kimani Kamau of Kenya and won by the slimmest margin possible—just 0.01 seconds. It was the closest race the event had ever seen. As Kamau reached desperately for the finish line and fell, Martin surged ahead to victory.
Life is much like a marathon. It has its ups and downs, a clear starting point, and a definite finish line. But unlike a race with mile markers, none of us knows exactly when our race will end.
This uncertainty makes it dangerous to assume we’ll have time for a last-minute turnaround to receive God’s gift of salvation.
The Bible records one of the most famous “deathbed conversions” in history—the story of the thief on the cross. The Bible tells us about his conversion:
“There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.” Luke 23:32-33
“But the other [thief], answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’” Luke 23:40-41
Hanging on the cross to the right of Jesus, this criminal listened as the other thief mocked the Lord. He rebuked his fellow criminal, openly confessed his own guilt, acknowledged Jesus’ innocence, and declared his faith in Christ as King. And then—
“…he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’” Luke 23:42-43
What an improbable finish! This man had likely spent his life running from God. Yet in his final moments, he turned to Jesus for salvation in genuine repentance and faith. When he took his last breath on earth, his next was in Paradise with the Savior.
While this story ends in grace and hope, millions of others do not. Many people have gambled on making things right with God at the very end—only to run out of time and cross the finish line without Christ. They are now irrevocably facing hell, or eternal separation from God.
Don’t risk your eternity!
The window of opportunity to trust Jesus is now, while you still have breath. Today is the day of salvation. If you haven’t already, place your faith in Jesus Christ and been born again—which is the only way to the Father—and be assured that when your race ends, you will hear those words: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the powerful reminder that tomorrow is not guaranteed. Only those who trust in You while on this side of eternity will be saved. Help us to live with urgency and to boldly share the Gospel so that no one will perish because we stayed silent. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
Melissa Sharp is an ultra runner and running coach who has completed more than 100 marathons and ultra marathons. Melissa has learned how to keep running the race of life for the glory of Christ even though she endured decades of domestic abuse. Melissa is a survivor. Through her daily blog thejoyfilledrunner she inspires others to live in the strength of Christ.
