As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. 22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames. Luke 16:21-24
HELL.... THE CHOICE OF A NEW GENERATION......c'mon Ray really? I know that was borrowed from an old 80's Pepsi slogan, but the reality is.....I believe more people are choosing Hell. Don't get me wrong I desire for people to choose differently and I'd much rather see people come to Christ, but as I look around many of us have the attitude of the rich man on this side of eternity.
Jesus reminds us (in Matthew 7:21) that only those that do the will of the Father will enter heaven, so while I can spend time questioning whether Hell is a real place or not, or would why would a loving God SEND someone to a place as torturous as Hell....I'd rather focus on our everyday choices that lead us into an eternity apart from God, versus a life that says I'm walking with God, and when I'm done walking with God through this life that walk will continue in the life to come. See we read that the RICH MAN was RICH and he lived a luxurious life, knowing full well that there was a poor man laying outside of his gate at the least needing food, medical attention, and he needed clothes (or how else could the dogs lick his open sores) ultimately he needed care and he, the RICH MAN, did nothing.
So where is it that you see the needs of others and you do nothing? Let's look and see what would Jesus have us to do. CAN YOU DO SOMETHING/ANYTHING vs. NOTHING? They need food.....can you spare a lunch or an extra lunch for them, prepare a dinner for a family that you know is in need? They need medical attention....with the cost of healthcare can you get them to the free clinic or at least hand them a brochure about one? With all the clothes you got.......surely no one should go naked. Lastly do you even care.......the RICH MAN was too busy enjoying His wealth to take time out to care about Lazarus...and if Lazarus was there everyday, I'm sure the RICH MAN began to look past and over Lazarus. Is that you....do you even see the poor in your path? Do you even care about those in your neighborhood or your job that are the poor in.........__________________(fill in the blank)? What about those in far away countries....do you go out of your way to help?
You can approach this with a lowering buckets with food, clothing, medical supplies to the poor, or you can lower a ladder. Since the WORD of GOD is true that we will have the poor with us always......maybe that also means there is always WORK for US as the people of GOD to do................LGLP
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