By Rhonda Stinson
“I am not doing very good,” said Nina, one of my ESL (English as a Second Language) students.
“Learning takes time, Nina,” I encouraged. Hang in there, and I assure you, you will make progress.” Frustration was written all over her face and ready to pour down her face in the form of tears. I continued to reassure and encourage her as she intently listened. The worst thing she could do would be to quit. Her vocabulary was quite extensive considering she has only been learning English for just over four months.
Do you get frustrated when trying to understand certain things in the Bible? We’ve all been there! At times, it might seem like trying to learn a foreign language. I grew up in church and heard sermons, but I didn’t begin digging deep into the Bible until 2016. Every Christmas, I read through the Bible’s account of Jesus’ birth in the gospels. At Easter, I read the gospel accounts of the events surrounding the crucifixion.
This year, the Holy Spirit revealed something new to me. I was thinking about the two thieves who were crucified next to Jesus. The thief on His right was repentant and therefore became a believer and would spend eternity in heaven. The thief to Jesus’ left remained unrepentant and therefore died in his sins. He would spend eternity in hell.
As I thought about this, the significance of the right and left stood out. This verse came to mind: “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left” (Matthew 25:32-33). We are told that those who confess Christ as Savior will be separated from the ones who do not. At the end of God’s timeline, He will separate the sheep (believers) from the goats (unbelievers).
When we as believers see all of the evil that is going on in the world, it is easy to become frustrated and disheartened. What God says is right, the world says is wrong. Right is now being penalized and wrong is rewarded. What an upside-down world it is! Take heart, my friend. Christ has conquered death and the grave! Those who accept Christ as their Savior have an eternal reward awaiting.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world'” (Matthew 25:34).
“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels'” (Matthew 25:41).
There are many verses which refer to the significance of the right hand. It is a place of honor and glory. It is a place we can only receive through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He was the only perfect and sinless lamb whose shed blood could satisfy God’s wrath upon sin. Have you accepted Christ’s sacrifice?
Do you believe that He is the only One able to save you from your sins? If not, please think about where you would be if you die today. The body is so strong and yet so fragile. No one is guaranteed tomorrow.
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).
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