To the THIEF, the Potter loves you

To the THIEF, the Potter loves you

Ephesians 4:28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. (NIV)

          Jesus’ time had come to fulfill His ultimate mission on earth. After the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, He had been arrested, placed on trial, and crucified by his enemies in accordance to the fulfillment of prophecy. The Roman soldiers had placed Jesus’ cross in between that of two thieves. The Bible does not give their names, specify what they had stolen, nor tell if this had been the result of multiple offenses of each; but their criminal acts resulted in their having being given a death sentence as well.

            As they hung on the cross, each thief was aware that this would be the end as they knew it in this life. There would be no stay of execution. There would be no reprieve from the courts of Rome and yet, there were two different spirits possessed by each thief as they hung on the cross.  The book of Matthew lets us know that the “robbers” hurled insults at Jesus as they hung on the cross. Matthew 27:49-44 “He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (NIV) Due to Matthew’s choice to use the plural tense of the word, regardless of which version of the Bible that one uses, it lets us know that either both thieves at some point participated in this mocking or there may had been other robbers hanging on a cross nearby. Nevertheless, one of the thieves had a different spirit at some point on the cross than the other.

According to the book of Luke, one of the thieves maintained his desire to mock Jesus and was unrepentant as the other thief rebuked him for lacking a respect for God prior to his own death. Luke 23:39-41 ⁽³⁹⁾One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” ⁽⁴⁰⁾But the other criminal rebuked him “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁽⁴¹⁾We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (NIV) The thief, with the spirit of humility, understood that he and the other thief were deserving of the punishment that they had received in accordance to the laws at that time. However, He recognized that he was in the presence of the Son of God and that Jesus was innocent of all charges that had been made against Him. Therefore, his attitude towards Jesus was one of meekness in the end.

Knowing that his time was all most up, the thief made a humbling request of Jesus that took a lot of faith. Luke 23:42-43 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (NIV) The thief asked Jesus for salvation. He knew that Jesus was the only One who could save him despite the sins that he had committed on earth. He knew that Jesus was in the ministry of forgiveness and while he was yet a sinner, the thief knew that Jesus’ death would bring him redemption as well. Jesus honored the thief’s request and at that moment, eternal salvation through justification was granted to the thief on the cross.

The Word of God lets us know that stealing is wrong and is a sin. It can cost you to lose out on an eternity with Him if left unconfessed. To take something that doesn’t belong to you is not right in the sight of God and that desire comes strictly from the enemy. Nevertheless, Jesus came to give us eternal life if we would surrender our sinful nature to Him. John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV) The devil sought to steal our souls by introducing every type of sin to us, but the Potter aims to restore what was almost stolen from us and that was a chance at eternal salvation. That’s right! The devil is in the business of stealing souls.

The devil steals souls by making sin look appealing. Just as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden, the devil appeals to your senses for what is contrary to the will of God. Therefore, if he can get you to rob a house, wrongfully take money from the state, get caught up in company embezzlement, take someone’s innocence, and even steal from God with your time, talent and treasure, the enemy then has you. Not all types of thefts are the kind that will give you a prison sentence in the courts of law. Yet, when your name is not listed in the Book of Life, you will have allowed the enemy to be successful with stealing your soul. Revelation 20:15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (NIV)

The Potter, nevertheless, wants to restore to you what the enemy has stolen. Joel 2:25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten – the great locust and the young locust; the other locusts and the locust swarm – my great army that I sent among you.” (NIV) During Biblical times, such when the Israelites were enslaved, one of the plagues that God sent to Pharaoh was that of locusts. Locusts are destructive pests that will destroy a crop by eating everything thing that is on the plant leaving it lifeless and nonproductive. This is how the enemy operates. He destroys your desire for the things of God and in so doing, he steals whatever may be budding spiritually. He will steal your joy, peace, happiness and whatever area that will help you to be productive in God by keeping your bound to sin. When we are chained to sin, we are unknowingly authorizing the enemy to sabotage and steal our relationship with God. The Potter, nonetheless, is able to repair what is broken if we allow him. Romans 6:13-14 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are under the law, but under grace. (NIV)

If you have allowed the enemy to turn you into a thief, turn it over to the Potter. Whatever we desire, in accordance to the will of God, He will give it to you. All you have to do is ask. Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (NIV) Because the Potter owns everything, His children never have to resort to stealing. The Potter has more than enough to supply every need that we can possibly ask for. Now does this mean that He will give us everything that we ask for all the time? No! However, whatever we are in need of and even some of our desires, the Potter will grant in accordance to HIS perfect will if we ask, accept His answer, and wait patiently upon Him. Allow the Potter to give freely to you and restore your desire from being a thief to a giver for the Kingdom.