A criminal response to Jesus

In a chapter, We Were There in his book, Loving God, Charles Colson has a helpful discussion of the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus. Here is the account in Luke 23:39-43:

³⁹ One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." ⁴²And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." ⁴³And he said to him,"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Colson points out how the two criminals are representative of the typical response of humanity to Jesus. We either curse God and die or we acknowledge our guilt and desperately receive Jesus offer of the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life.