BeulalandBlog

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS :

GREAT LESSONS FOR OUR TIME

Clothed in purple and fine linen

The story of Lazarus and the rich man is narrated in the bible by no other person than the Master Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. See Luke 16 verses 19 to 31. ‘’There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.’’ Here, we see the contrasting fortunes in the earthly lives of both the rich man and Lazarus. One was unimaginably rich while the other was a beggar, full of sores. This is similar to what we have in the world today.

This story continues in verse 22, ‘’So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.’’ We further observe in the story that both the lives of the rich man and Lazarus ended. This only confirms that no matter how great or glorious one’s earthly life is, it will end sooner or later. In the same way, no matter how miserable or pathetic one’s life is here on earth, it will come to an end at some point. Nothing is really permanent here and surely no situation is permanently fixed. Believe or not, no one has a permanent home here.

Dogs licked the sores of Lazarus

Verses 24 and 25 then state, ‘’And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then 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.’‘’ What we notice from these verses is that there is consciousness after death. One could see that the rich man was conscious in hell – he was able to lift up his eyes to see Abraham afar. It was also because Lazarus was conscious that he was able to receive comfort in the bosom of Abraham. Please take note that these two had died on earth.

In verses 25 and 26, we read, ‘’But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your life time your received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’’

The rich man, because he lived a life of debauchery and affluence without any thought of God and the poor, found himself in hell. Also, it was because Lazarus, despite all his problems on earth, never forgot to acknowledge and worship the God of Abraham that he was comforted after his death. We should not for a moment think that the rich man was in hell because he was rich. There is nothing wrong in being rich. He was in hell because he worshipped his wealth having forgotten God. He also forgot the poor.

Verses 27 to 31 conclude the story. ‘’Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ‘’ The rich man’s plea for Abraham to send someone from the dead to his family failed to convince the patriarch. The patriarch’s position was that if the people still living on earth would not be swayed by the WORD of God, nothing else would sway them.

We have now come to the end of the story. The relevant questions are as follows: What is your state in life? Do you have a place for God in your life? Do you acknowledge and worship God? Do you have time for the Word of God? Have you allowed His Word to save you? Whether you are poor or rich, you must remember that you are not the first rich man or the first poor man or woman on earth. Also, always remember that here on earth we do not have a permanent abode. This means that you will die one day, sooner or later. The truly wise ones are those who live in the context of eternity.