The other day a friend of mine “challenged” me, if you will, to share my favorite verse of scripture. That’s certainly a pretty tough thing to do – to pick just ONE verse that stands out as my “favorite.”

But as I got to thinking about it, I started thinking about the verse of scripture that has had the MOST impact on me since I really, truly became a follower of Jesus.

“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43And He said to him, “•I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise.” – Luke 23:42-43.

I have always loved this verse because in such a dark moment, as Jesus was there hanging and dying on the cross next to a thief, a murderer, a criminal – Jesus was still loving and forgiving. As He always was and always will be.

The thief realized that he, himself, deserved to be there, but that Jesus didn’t, and yet, Jesus offered hope to the thief at the last minute and painted a beautiful picture of heaven as paradise.

I could go on and on about this particular verse, but I just love the meaning behind it. It’s such a beautiful picture of heaven even in the midst of Jesus’ darkest hour.

It tells me that no matter what we’ve done, no matter what we will ever do, if we accept Jesus as ours, we will be with Him forever in paradise.

So, I challenge you: what is YOUR favorite verse of scripture and why? You don’t HAVE to share why, but I would love for you to leave your favorite Bible verse in the comments!