Luke 16: 19-31
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 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;
23 And in heck he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 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.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
One of my favorite parables. Space does not allow me to really comment fully on this passage so I will be brief.
We are so conditioned by our conception of heck by two main sources, Dante's Inferno,and Paradise Lost by Milton.What we really know from the scripture is that it is a place we don't want to spend eternity. Void of anything good and eternal torment, torment we created not God. The Rich man in this story created his own heck. Just as all who end up there will. Greed, Indeference, self centered lifestyle.
Bread was much more common than what we know as paper. Bread was plentiful. It was used as napkins. When the rich man would wipe his hands he would toss the bread out the window and the poor man would scramble to eat it. Think of the countless days he would enter his residence and not offer the poor man even a square meal. My hope is we can check our hearts and see if there is room for compassion. Because God is a compassionate God!
Who will you pass today that needs your help?
Mike
Let me add, It might just be a kind word. An offer to help, many ways to make God visible in a world of need.
