Luke 16.27-31 27 “He
answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I
have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this
place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets;
let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if
someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him,
‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced
even if someone rises from the dead.’” – St. Luke
In a curious dialog in Luke 16, is the narrative of a
rich man and Abraham. Now, of course this is a parable of sorts and Jesus used these
words because He knew what the Jews thought of Abraham. The curious part is He used
the name, Lazarus to describe the
third person in the narrative. Lazarus
is the name of the guy He raised from the dead in John 11.
The man, Lazarus is a beggar who is laid by the front
gate of the rich man’s house. Lazarus is wretchedly poor and sickly (body
sores), and the rich man ignores him. And so, one day, Lazarus dies.
Remarkably, at about the same time, the rich man dies as well. In his death the
rich man sees Lazarus being taken to Abraham’s side where he is cared for, and
the rich man (from hell) he can view Abraham and Lazarus.
After some discussion, the rich man sees his fate is
sealed and he appeals to Abraham, “…send
Lazarus to my family…let him warn them so that they won’t have to come to this
place of torment”. And Abraham replies: They
have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. And here is where the
story gets really interesting: the rich man says, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they
will repent.’ In other words, Lazarus, rising/returning from the dead will
be enough to convince them. Abraham says, ‘If
they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even
if someone rises from the dead.’
Funny, the real
Lazarus came back from the dead and all that got him was a death warrant by the
religious leaders to kill him. The very religious leaders who cited “Moses, and
the Prophets”. My question is: what will
it take for men to believe? What it takes is faith, not stupendous
miracles.
What it takes is a perspective that sees, in this life,
there has to be something more; something else. Our lives, while varied and
remarkable, all boil down to the same thing: Do we believe and seek God?
Just after September 11, 2001 there was a dramatic rise
in church attendance throughout the United States. But by the first part of the
following year, attendance had slipped to less that it was before the terrorist
attack on September 11. It won’t take a miracle, it won’t take a tragedy; it
only takes faith.
Church attendance isn’t the goal – faith is. In every
area of life, I am faced with faith. And my faith, while (perhaps) incomprehensible
to some, is completely acceptable to God. I don’t need miracles, I don’t need
tragedies, I need God and I need Him today. So, I look to Him in faith, and seek
His interaction in my life. All it takes is faith.
Father God, thank
You for the gift of faith. I don’t have to explain it, all I have to do is live
in it. Help me in my walk today, for You are the faithful God. Ame
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