Rich Man vs. Poor Man

“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.”

~Luke 16:25

Luke 16:19-31 tells the story of “a certain” rich man, and Lazarus, a poor man who both died. The rich man had a life of luxury, while Lazarus suffered his entire life with some sort of disease that made him unable to work and had to beg for food. They both died and verse 22 says that Lazarus was carried away by angels, while the rich man was buried and tormented in Hades. Lazarus, on the other hand, was comforted by Abraham. The rich man could see that Lazarus and Abraham had quite a different afterlife than he did, but no matter how he tried to bargain, the rich man could not cross over to Abraham. He could not change his fate. He finally tried to convince Abraham to allow Lazarus to be raised from the dead in order to tell the rich man’s five brothers what awaited them in death but that wasn’t allowed either. “He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead (v. 31).’”

Although wealth does not preclude one from going to Heaven, and poverty does not guarantee Heaven for anyone; I was struck by verse 31 for one reason, someone did rise from the dead—Jesus Christ. He was seen by hundreds of people and walked the earth for 40 days after He rose from the dead, yet people still refuse to believe the Bible as truth for their lives, both then and now. We have the evidence of Creation all around us. We have the Word of God, we have churches everywhere, and TV and radio stations full of gospel broadcasts, yet people continue to scoff at the idea Jesus Christ can change their lives and eternal destiny.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (Romans 1:20).”

We are without excuse when it comes to salvation and eternity. We have all the evidence necessary to know and understand who God is and what He did on the Cross through the body of Jesus Christ. We make the choice for Heaven or hell every day by choosing whether we will follow Christ or go our own way. For many of us, we were absolutely convinced that our way was not working, and we had only one choice, choose Jesus or die. For others, perhaps the choice is more difficult because they do have money that allows for their bad behavior, allows them to get out of whatever trouble they find, and allows them to go on through life as if their behavior has no real consequences. It does seem that way when we read the news about celebrities or politicians getting away with things that a normal person would be in prison for.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).”

Our hearts are our moral compass. Whatever direction it’s pointed to is where our lives follow, and it’s sad to think that while Creation praises the work of God’s hand, His greatest Creation – us – continues to deny Him.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in Heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:15-20).”

Read 2 Chronicles 1-5

©2018 Marie McGaha