During Christ’s crucifixion Luke tells the story of two criminals that were crucified at the same time as Jesus. One of the criminals saw Jesus as a fake and sarcastically asked Him to prove He was the Messiah by coming down off of the cross. The other criminal did not see Jesus as a criminal but as the Messiah who would rein in the kingdom that was both a present and future reality. In response to the faith of this criminals faith Jesus states:

Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)

Both of these criminals exemplify this world’s response to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Like the first criminal the message of the cross is often foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). The god of this age (satan) has blinded their minds to the point that they cannot see the light of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). The second criminal understood that his deeds had earned him death (Romans 6:23) but also understood that Jesus, the bread of life (John 6:35), was offering all people living water that is like a spring that wells up into eternal life (John 4:14).

Christmas is almost here! Most of us have already made a list of what gifts and food to buy and when we are going to visit friends and family. This list is usually very long and it takes considerable time to check off each item. While this list is important because it represents our attempt to show our love to one another, I believe there is another list that each of us should make. I have friends and family that by their own testimony are like the first criminal. They do not know or care to know anything about Jesus Christ. I believe we as ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), the salt of the earth and light unto the nations (Matthew 5:13-16) are obligated to make a list of unsaved people and give them the Gospel message this Christmas! While many of them will respond like the first criminal by mocking Jesus, what if one of them hears and accepts Jesus into their heart? Now that would be a gift worth opening!