I
am …
Thief. adulterer .liar. murderer. accuser .blasphemous.
unbeliever. less than. Cheater. Idoalater. Insignificant. Dirty. unloveable .guilty.darkness.
dead.
CHAPTER
1
I
am a thief.
Luke 23:32-43, (NAS95) 32 Two others also, who were criminals,
were being led away to be put to death with Him. 33 When they came to the place
called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right
and the other on the left. 34 But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them;
for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up
His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even
the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save
Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One." 36 The soldiers
also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying,
"If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!" 38 Now there was
also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." 39 One
of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying,
"Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!" 40 But the other
answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are
under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 "And we indeed are suffering
justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has
done nothing wrong." 42 And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when
You come in Your kingdom!" 43 And He said to him, "Truly I say to you,
today you shall be with Me in Paradise."
thief
noun, plural thieves.
a person who steals, especially secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.
I don’t know what the thief stole to be
executed. To me a death sentence for stealing seems pretty harsh. I wonder if
he was caught stealing multiple times or if he killed someone in the process?
We will never know on this side of Heaven what he did to receive his sentence.
The
first thing I ever stole was a peanut, I was 4 years old. I remember I was with
my Grandpa, we were at the store and walked by a large barrel of peanuts, I
reached in and put it in my mouth sucking on the salted shell, when we got out
to his truck I proudly said “look Grandpa I stole this peanut”. He was not so
happy, he pulled me by my ear back inside to the clerk, made me say what I did
and demanded they call the police on me for stealing. I was so afraid they were
going to take me to jail. The clerk said it wasn’t a big deal because it was
only a peanut, but my Grandpa slammed his hand down on the counter and said “it
is a big deal, stealing is never right”.
I
apologized and promised to never steal again. We drove home in silence that
day, I can still remember the shame I felt on that ride home.
While
my crime days are long behind me when I think about it I realize they are not
that far behind.
I
am a thief. I steal every single day.
I
have stolen a pen at the check out, a few grapes while grocery shopping, just little
things that I never thought were a big deal, but like that peanut ,stealing is
never right how big or small.
Well
that’s not so bad you say. What if I told you there was more to the story, will
you judge me? Condem me? Mock me? Will you see yourself in me?
I
am a thief.
I
have stolen , robbed, lied.
I
have stolen time from my family to pursue my own selfish desires, I have lost
out on many family memories, family dinners, family events because of my own selfishness.
I
am so selfish that instead of giving money to the Church to further the
advancement of the Kingdom of Christ, I went shopping and spent my money on
superficial material things. Do I need 300 pairs of shoes or matching gym shoes
for every workout outfit? Probably not.
Yes I admit I have stolen from the house of my Lord.
In
the process I have robbed myself of the joy that comes from giving to my
family. I have robbed myself of the joy that comes from giving to God.
So
I lie to myself to make myself feel better. I lie to God, creating excuses then
asking Him to bail me out of my mess.
I
am a thief.
I
have stolen intimacy from my marriage by not letting go of an argument because
my pride is to great. Once again robbing not only myself but my husband of the
joy we share laughing, smiling, talking , embracing.
I
have stolen secretly in the quiet places of my heart that no one sees, but God.
He sees, He knows, and yet despite it all He loves me.
I
am a thief but God is the acquitter. He has seen what I have stolen and whom I
have robbed and lied to. And like the thief on the cross I have repented and He
has spoken to me. Forgiving me, promising me that I will be in paradise with
him.
Dear
Lord, thank you for seeing me for who I am and still loving me. Help me to be
the woman you created me to be, help me to steal no more, help me to stay on
the path that you are leading me on, take my hand and lead me, I can not do
this alone, I need you to walk with me. Thank you, I love you.
John 10:10
New
International Version (NIV)
10 The
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full
Here is the link to THIEF by Third Day
