The parable of the rich man and Lazarus narrated in Luke chapter 16 talks about a rich who lived a luxurious life while Lazarus, a poor man lived outside his gates with no food, clothes or any one to care for him. Both of them died and the poor man went to heaven and the rich man is seen in eternal torment. On seeing Lazarus in the bosom of Father Abraham asked if he could send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool his tongue. Abraham tells him that there is a big chasm (a gap or abyss) between the two places and no one can go from one to the other. He also asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers to warn them so that they will not also go to the place of torment. That was also denied because the living folks have Moses and the prophets, meaning the scripture that they can read and understand.
A Sunday school teacher told his class the story of the rich man and Lazarus and then asked, “Now, which would you rather be, boys—the rich man or Lazarus?” One boy replied, “I’d like to be the rich man while I’m living and Lazarus when I die.” That would be nice if it worked that way.
Derek W. Engdahl in his book, "The Great Chasm: How to Stop Our Wealth from Separating Us from the Poor and God" (Paperback – January 23, 2015) says, "The great, eternal chasm cannot be crossed, the chasms in this life — the ones that separate us from each other and from God — can be crossed. The question is: will we get on the bridge while there still is one?" There are chasms that separate the rich and the poor, the advantaged and the disadvantaged, and there are chasms of languages, colors and cultures that divide us. There are denominational and political chasms that separate us from each other and from God. Knowinlgy or unknowingly we all build chasms in our lives. Instead, Christians around the world need to be intentional in building bridges of love and care with compassion.
The Great chasm existed in the life of the rich man before his death, and it followed him to eternity. If you have a personal relationship with God in this life, you will have a relationship with God in eternity. Loving God also means loving the people. "For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen." (1 John 4:20). The rich man was sincere in his regret, but was a little too late. Death is an unwelcome guest at an unannounced time. Someone has said, "There is no unbeliever in hell, they just believed too late!" God's grace is available more now than it was then because we have Jesus Christ, the living Word through whom the reconciliation was made possible through faith. "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son." (Hebrews 1:1).
There are two and only two eternal destinies. either with God, or away from God. Jesus said, “I say to you, make friends for yourselves by the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails, they might receive you into the eternal dwellings”(Luke 16:9). The rich man failed to lay up treasures in heaven, even though the opportunity to do so literally lay at his doorstep every day. Even having Abraham as his father did not help. Good intentions are not enough, but timely actions make the difference.
Blessings
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