I had the privilege to speak at First Priority this week for Hartsville High School. As I was thinking of a challenge to share with them, my mind went back to a story that Jesus told while he was ministering with his disciples.
You may be quite familiar with the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man was very financially and socially stable, and he had about anything he wanted in life. Then there was Lazarus, a man who had absolutely no earthly possessions and was covered from head to toe in blisters and ulcers. And from the account that Jesus gives us, Lazarus lived outside of the rich man's gate. So the rich man, whom is not named, would have known Lazarus fairly well by seeing him everyday begging for food.
Well the day came and both of them had died. We are told by Jesus that Lazarus was in Abraham's side (Paradise) and the rich man was in Hades (Hell). There is quite a dialogue that takes place between the two. The rich man asks to leave from Hell and is told, "No." Then the rich man asks if Lazarus can come and drop a single drop of water from his finger into his mouth, and he is told "No." Then out of desperation he asks that Lazarus be sent to tell his family that Hell is real and that Jesus is truth.
The account that Jesus shares about the rich man and Lazarus is very interesting and challenging, but I saw something that I had not really paid attention too before. This rich man, who was forever in a place of torment, Hell, became so fully aware of the reality of Hell that he would do anything to warn his family about Hell. It made me stop and ask myself, "Do I care as much as this guy in Hell about those I see everyday?" Sometimes, I think Christians become so comfortable in their lives, their routines, their entertainment, that we forget about the destiny of all of those that do not surrender to Jesus.
How challenging it is to hear from the mouth of a man, who is eternally sentenced to torment in Hell, that he would do anything to see people find the truth and not spend eternity apart from Christ. Yet in our everyday lives, we live according to our comforts and desires versus God's direction and will.
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment