We see in the Bible the longing of the heart of God extending even to man’s helpless extremity at the very end of a rebellious course. Think, for example, of that dying robber (Luke 23) and the man befriended by the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). How much they had in common, though one was the robber and the other the robbed!
Both outside Jerusalem, God’s center of blessing.
Both stripped of all they possessed.
Both passed by.
Both utterly friendless.
Both with life ebbing out-“half dead.”
They might both have used the psalmist’s lament to express their friendlessness: “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul” (Psa. 142:44I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. (Psalm 142:4)). Could you have whispered in the ear of that “certain man” who was half dead between Jerusalem and Jericho, “Be of good cheer; a friend is coming. Let me lift your head that you may see him for yourself.” He would probably have answered, “Oh, but he is no friend of mine; he is a Samaritan. I hate a Samaritan and can expect only hatred in return. If love is impossible on my side, it must be on his side also.” What a mistaken conclusion!
Again, could you have said to that dying thief, “Don’t regard yourself as friendless, for the Friend of publicans and sinners hangs beside you. Did you not hear His prayer just now: ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:3434Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Luke 23:34))?”
Had you urged him to make room in his heart for that Friend, he might naturally have answered, “That is all very well, but how could the righteous One find room in His heart for a doomed rebel like me? Besides, I have only just now been cruelly insulting Him, casting taunts in His teeth!”
You might have said to each of them, “You cannot gauge His feelings about you by yours about Him or measure His goodness by what you deserve, but you may measure His goodness by the way He has come to suffer for your sins in order that He might bring you into the eternal enjoyment of His love. Every conclusion must be false and misleading that makes our goodness the cause of God’s favor.”
Both of these men found the only true source of blessing. One was carried to his Friend’s home, to enjoy his Friend’s company “in Paradise”; the other was carried to the “inn,” placed under the care of the host at the friend’s expense, to wait for his friend’s return.
Is there nothing in such a Friend to attract your heart and win your confidence?
Is there nothing appalling in the thought of being left to die without Him, because you would not accept His grace?
Make your decision quickly, for it is clear that the day of His return is near. May mercy’s last offer be not a lost one for you!