A Whimsical Dictionary: T is for Thief
A Whimsical Dictionary of Surprising Influences.
T is for Thief –
Anyone who takes something in a sneaky, furtive way. Surprisingly, Jesus called Himself a thief once, and Scripture claims that He was to return in glory like some super-villain, a thief in the night, stealing His children away (Rev. 16:15; 1 Thess. 5:2). A curious, mysterious grand entrance.
Jesus knew about dying like a thief too, absconding with the wrongs of mankind and carrying them away in His death. He had a couple of other revolutionaries on either side of Him at this death scene (Luke 23), once again surrounding Himself with those outcasts who needed Him most.
Thanks be to God He does that, because we, all of us, could just easily be there on either side. In our weak moments, we could be sneaky criminals, robbing through envy, committing adultery through lust, killing through hatred, and damning others through religious indignation and judgment. There are times we are not solid citizens of the Kingdom, but Jesus welcomes us to His side regardless.
But which type of criminal will we become: the blasphemer on Jesus’ right side, the taunter, blind to salvation even when it’s staring him right in the face; or are we the penitent one on His left, the tender and broken one, aware of the truthfulness of the gallows, praising his King for the reality of the mob’s jeer, “He saved others, but He will not save Himself.” No one knows how that thief saw the light at that particular time, but soon he was thick as thieves with the Redeemer. And the Messiah Thief, who stole our sins away, wants to be with us in the new Kingdom as well.