“Keep me as the apple of your eye” – what an amazing thing for David to pray to God (Psalm 17:8). What does it mean? It’s an expression Moses had prayed about God’s love for His people Israel (Deuteronomy 32:10). To be the apple of God’s eye surely means God has His eye on you and you are a delight to him. The picture is completed by David asking the Lord to hide him in the shadow of His wings.
In the face of threats from His enemies, David turns to the Lord and asks Him to remember him, to act for him, to shelter and protect him. And wonderfully for us, it’s a prayer the Lord loves to answer.
In our gospel reading, (Luke 23) we see the Lord Jesus answering the dying criminal as he asks Jesus to remember him. This man had committed awful crimes, crimes worthy of death, can he really be considered as the apple of God’s eye? What gave this dying man the courage to turn to Jesus?
He had heard Jesus praying for His enemies “Father forgive them” and seen something of the attractiveness of the mercy of Jesus. As soon as Jesus’ blood began to flow, He began to pray that God would use his sacrifice to bring forgiveness, even to his enemies! As he heard this, he was drawn to Christ. Who wouldn’t be? Well the other criminal for a start! He simply joined in the mocking, he uses his dying breaths to mock Jesus. Here is a warning for some who want to wait until their death bed to turn to Jesus, not everyone will. We should never presume on the mercy of Jesus, but should turn to him whenever we have opportunity.
The repentant thief, rebukes the mocking thief. It’s a sign of his spiritual awakening. When God works in your life, you will start to be concerned for the honour of Jesus, and it will hurt you to hear him mocked, to hear people using His precious name as a swear word.
After defending Jesus, he turns to Jesus and says those wonderful words that would change his destiny forever! What did he say?
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
When you ask someone to remember something, you’re asking them to act. If you remember someone’s birthday, it normally means you will do something. This criminal asks Jesus to act for him. He has already admitted he deserves judgment (v41), and now he’s asking for mercy. In this short “sinner’s prayer” he also recognises Jesus as king. He asks Jesus to remember him as he comes into his kingdom, so Jesus must be king! And for the rest of his short life, and then into eternity, this criminal would live with Jesus as His king. He has been transformed.
How amazing it must have been for this man to hear those words, “today you will be with me in paradise.” A few moments earlier, he was facing a lost eternity in hell, now he’s assured that he is the apple of the Lord’s eye! He will be sheltered from God’s wrath, he will be in God’s kingdom. What had he done to deserve this? Nothing! He was nailed hand and foot to the cross, he couldn’t do anything! He couldn’t be baptised, he couldn’t take holy communion or get to church, he couldn’t do any good work, as good as all those things are when received rightly, they cannot save you. Christ alone saves us. This man shows us that our salvation depends on Christ alone. How could this man (or any of us) enter God’s kingdom? Only because Jesus was dying in his place, paying for his sin.
If you have turned to Jesus, recognising like the criminal, that you deserve judgment, asking him to act for you (to pay for your sin) and now treat Jesus as king, then you too can know the amazing truth of being in God’s kingdom forever! You can know what it is to be the apple of God’s eye and to shelter in Him.
If you haven’t yet turned to him, what’s stopping you?
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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