Paradise.
When I think of paradise, I think of white beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see and clear blue water. There’s probably a chair down near the water, too. I bet most of us have a specific place that our mind goes to when we think of paradise. (What’s yours, by the way?)
People in Jesus’s day thought of a specific place when they heard the word paradise, too. In Hebrew, paradise is a borrowed word from the Persian language, which means “walled garden.” When the Old Testament was translated into Greek in the first century BC, the word paradise was used to describe the Garden of Eden. By the time of Jesus, the word paradise had also taken on the connotations of a place of ultimate happiness. It makes sense, right? If you lived in a desert climate, any type of garden would be paradise, too!
So, when Jesus looked at the criminal on the cross and said, “today you will be with me in paradise,” he knew exactly what Jesus meant. But I think Jesus was promising the criminal more than just residency in a beautiful garden. What’s interesting about the Persian roots of the word paradise is that when Persian kings wanted to grant a subject a special honor, they would invite them on a walk in the royal walled garden.
Jesus promised the criminal salvation, but He also promised him way more. The criminal just wanted Jesus to remember him when Jesus came into His kingdom. Jesus said, “you will be with me.” Paradise isn’t just paradise because it’s beautiful. It’s not paradise because we live forever there.
It’s paradise because of who is there.
I grew up in a church that sang old fashioned hymns each Sunday. I had my favorites, but I also remember the ones that I felt like went on forever and used a bunch of words I had never heard before or since. The hymnals in that church were blue, and hymn number 187 was one of my favorites. As a kid I liked it because it was catchy, and I could actually sing along. You may not know this about me, but I do not sing well, and I often choose to not sing along in church because I’m embarrassed. But whenever I heard the song leader ask the church to turn to hymn number 187, it was my time to shine. I sang along no matter who heard!
Even today, hymn number 187 remains one of my favorite songs. I haven’t heard it in a church in years, but I still know all the words.
“And He walks with me and talks with me
And tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.”
Looking back, I love what the song taught me about Jesus and heaven. Heaven wasn’t sitting on a cloud with angel wings. Heaven is a walk in the garden with my Savior.
Paradise isn’t just paradise because it’s beautiful.
It’s not paradise because we live forever there.
It’s paradise because of who is there.
As we close our time together today, I would like to invite you to listen to hymn number 187.
I pray it blesses you as much as it always has me.