Lazarus and the Rich Man
There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."
But Abraham said, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from there."
Then he said, "I pray you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house:
For I have five brothers; that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torment."
Abraham saith unto him, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them."
And he said, "No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent."
And Abraham said to him, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." - Luke 16:19-31
Lazarus had a good job, but he lost it when he became ill and could no longer work. He has some disability, but it is not enough to make ends meet. He needs a little extra to help him survive.
He’s looking at you.
Lazarus had a good job too, but he lost it when the company that employed him could employ no more. He could not find another job and used all his savings until they were gone, along with his apartment and his car. He never thought that someday he would be homeless and he is ashamed. It’s hard for him to find his way back up when he has come so far down.
He’s looking at you.
Lazarus has a criminal record from a past he is trying to forget. But employers tend to favor résumés that shine with untarnished perfection. Now he can’t even get a license to perform simple home repairs. He needs help from someone who is not afraid to care.
He’s looking at you.
Lazarus is a little slow. The facility that housed him was shut down from lack of funds and he was sent out on his own. He doesn’t have the mental prowess to calculate a solution to his homelessness. He can’t even get an ID without an address. He really doesn’t know what to do.
So he’s looking at you.
Lazarus soiled his life with addictions that took advantage of his weaknesses. He knows he has failed, but he is still a human being and God loves this one who is wounded by the side of the road. He's lonely, hungry and cold. He needs to hear the Gospel so he will know that Jesus sees him as a valuable treasure worth dying for. Do you? What can you do to help this one, because,
he’s looking at you…too.
Copyright 2011 by H.D. Shively
Love Feasts It was a custom in the first century Christian church to have what was known as love feasts. The equivalent today might be called a fellowship supper or something like that. Imagine showing up at church with covered dish in hand and being escorted to a separate room with seating designated for those in your economic category. In other words, if you were poor, you didn’t get to sit with those in your congregation who were more affluent. How would you feel about that? And yet, this is what those Christians especially in the church at Corinth ended up doing.
The rich would bring a sumptuous feast, while the poor in the other room had nothing or very little to eat. None of the blessings of the rich trickled down to those less fortunate. Eventually the Apostles caught wind of what was going on and they had to step in to regulate the selfish behavior of those professed Christians who had not yet learned that it was God’s desire for them to share their abundance with others.
This relates quite well to Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man who neglected the needs of the poor man, Lazarus, did not fare very well when he died. His lack of compassion apparently did not line up with his profession of faith.
I know that we are saved by grace, yet works are the natural product or “fruit” of a genuine relationship with God through Christ. When I get to heaven, Jesus is going ask me why He should let me in. There is only one thing I’m going to say in response – “Because I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead.”
Then He is going to look at my life and see if I am lying.
Sharing with others, with a genuine spirit of compassion, is the natural response of the Holy Spirit working in a believer’s life. God is interested in reforming us from the inside out, because without love or compassion the Scriptures tell us, we are “Nothing.” ( I Corinthians 13 ) and God has created all of us to be something wonderful; because we have been predestinated through the foreknowledge of God to be conformed into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
When we share our blessings with others in a spirit of genuine love, we are writing a testimony of the reality of God’s word operating in our lives; because, how can we dare to say that the love of God dwells in us and neglect the needs of the poor? How can we cast a glance into that other room, and not allow compassion to join us to those in need? - Unless, like the rich man in Jesus’ parable, we have been lying.
For this is the message
that you heard from the beginning, that we should
love one another.
Whoever has this world’s good, and sees his brother has need,
and shuts up his heart of compassion from him,
how dwells the love of God in him?
My little children,
let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
For if there comes to your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there comes in also a poor man in vile raiment;
and you have respect to him that wears the fine clothing and say to him,
“Sit here in a good place;” and say to the poor, “Stand over there, or sit here under my footstool:”
are you not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Listen, my beloved brethren, has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to them that love Him?
He that oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker:
but he that honors Him has mercy on the poor.
Blessed is he that considers the poor;
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
John 3:11, 3:17, 18; James 2:1-5, Proverbs 14:31; Psalm 41:1
Copyright 2010 by H.D. Shively
Remember the Poor | Homepage |