9-25-20   THOUGHTS

Luke 16:19-31    "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.  20  "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21  and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22  "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23  "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24  "And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 25  "But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26  ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’  27  "And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house —  28  for I have five brothers — in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29  "But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30  "But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31  "But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’"

Keys:   Two very different lives... rich and poor, Two very different ends... Abraham’s bosom and Hades, comfort and agony, a  great chasm fixed, God’s word as the solution to life.
I would guess that more time has been spent in discussion about Abraham’s Bosom and Hades than about how to live in this life?  The detail of the end...  cannot be more important than the lesson of LIFE Christ was warning us about.  This was not a lesson about being rich, it was a lesson about COMPASSION FAILURE!  We are probing some deep areas this morning.  We must hear what God wants us to hear, and not what we want to hear!  BUT WE MUST HEAR!

Matt 25:40   "The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, [even] the least [of them,] you did it to Me.’
1John 4:17-21    By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19  We love, because He first loved us. 20  If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21  And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

My Prayer:
God of all love and compassion, help us to practice your love.  Teach us more love.  Help us to perceive when we withhold love.  Teach us to stop withholding love and to be totally compassionate.  Show us more clearly your gifts,  that we may learn to give in fuller measure.
In the name of our dear Savior, Jesus              Amen