The Rich Man and the Beggar
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “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.’ ”
The Rich man in this parable ended up in Hell and Lazarus in Heaven. In this account from the bible we see that the Rich man was begging for Lazarus to be sent to his 5 brothers, who were still alive, so that they don’t make the same mistake he did and end up in Hell.
If you know anyone on the fence with their Christianity, we must encourage them to take their relationship with God seriously. One of the reasons the bible exist is so that we have a guideline on how we should live. If we ignore the lessons in the bible and go our own way, we may end up like the rich man that ended up in hell. Also, we want to avoid ending up like his five brothers, who had the opportunity to change their behavior and learn from Moses and the Prophets but if they choose not to they would’ve ended up with the rich man in hell.
Pay attention when God is trying to get your attention. He has given you the bible so that you can learn what to do and how to conduct your life to avoid spending eternity separated from God. We have the Bible, that contains plenty of examples for us to follow. We have Jesus who died and resurrected after three days to show us the power and love that God has for all of us. Today God chooses to work through normal people to get his message across to you. God loves you and does not want you to end up like the rich man in Hades.
Make the decision to stay on the right side of the fence today.
Pray this prayer.
“God, I’m sorry for the sins that I have committed and ask for you to forgive me. I repent and turn my heart to following you from today onward. Clean me up and work through me for your glory. Bless me to be a blessing and for your name’s sake. Thank you for dying on the cross for me Jesus. I trust my eternity in your hands. In Jesus name. Amen”
Your next steps:
- Find a church that teaches the bible.
- Be baptized.
- Serve in that church.
- Read your bible and pray daily.
- Trust Jesus to pick you up if you fall.