Wednesday: Lost Opportunities
Although Jesus came to seek and save those lost in sin, He never forces anyone to accept the salvation He offers. Salvation is free and available to all, but one must accept the free offer in faith, which results in a life in conformity with God’s will.
Image © Standard Publishing from GoodSalt.com
The only time we have for such an experience is while we live on earth; no other opportunity exists.
Read Luke 16:19-31. What’s the main message of this parable?
The parable is recorded only in Luke, and it teaches two great truths with respect to salvation: the importance of today
in the process of salvation and the absence of another opportunity for salvation after death.
Today is the day of salvation. The parable does not teach that there is something inherently evil in riches or something inescapably good in being poor. What it does teach is that the opportunity of being saved and living saved must not be missed while we are on this earth. Rich or poor, educated or illiterate, powerful or powerless, we have no second chance. All are saved and judged by their attitude today, now, to Jesus. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation
(2 Cor. 6:2).
The parable also teaches that eternal reward has nothing to do with material possessions. The rich man was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day
(Luke 16:19, NKJV) but missed the essential of life: God. Where God is not recognized, fellow human beings are not noticed. The rich man’s sin was not in his richness but in his failure to recognize that God’s family is broader than he was prepared to accept.
There is no second chance for salvation after death. The second inescapable truth that Jesus teaches here is that there is no second chance for salvation after death. It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment
(Heb. 9:27, NKJV). Another point of this parable is to show people that we have been given enough evidence now, in this life, to make a conscious choice for or against God. Any theology that teaches some kind of second chance
after death is a great deception.
We love to talk about how much God loves us and all that He has done and is doing to save us. What should this parable teach us, though, about the danger of taking God’s love and offer of salvation for granted?
(25)
The parable is a powerful statement on responsible living in an irresponsible society; on the meaninglessness of luxury in the midst of abject poverty. The lesson therefore is that eternity does not take into account how large our bank account, or how many servants one had, but the fact that God weighs each soul in terms of sowing the seeds of love, reaching out to the least of those among us etc. And lastly, there's no second chance. Decide, therefore now.
Ariyo, you have identified a core issue that plagues us. The lesson states, "Where God is not recognized, fellow human beings are not noticed. If we don't value people as a masterpiece of God, we will unashamedely ignore their abject needs. Each day we are given opportunities to reveal God,s love to people in need!!!
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus actually teaches a number of lessons which may not be all obvious.
Sometimes Bible students honestly do not see certain things in a text, but it does not mean those things are not there. It is worth bearing in mind that in the study of scripture not all truth may be drawn from a passage by mere intellectual competence. Otherwise we could just accept what the bright people tell us, assuming there is a way to know which ones to listen to.
The Bible tells us spiritual things are spiritually discerned, which is one reason to pray irrespective of one’s perceived level of intellectual ability (1 Corinthians 2:14). The faithful pray for the Spirit’s help and then proceed to search scripture diligently for truth as if for lost treasure.
One lesson in the parable which may be missed or not get much emphasis is the result of selfish indulgence and failure to use the Lord’s resources to relieve suffering (Luke 16:19). The merciful God observes all and eventually turns the table.
Ultimately the self- seeking end up on the outside while the faithful poor get recompense in the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 16:25). Let the people of faith pray for bowels of mercy and cooperate with Heaven to relieve suffering as far as possible. Not all the poor need to wait for the Glorious appearing to get some attention.
Another lesson I see in this parable is that true riches is our relationship with the LORD but in this life that doesn't always translate into wealth & health.
It is important to note that this parable also does not teach that when people die some go to heaven and some to hell and that the dead can communicate with each other. Using the prevailing beliefs of the audience at the time, Jesus sought to teach them about the futility of failing to prepare for your eternity while you are still alive.
was the rich man's sin in his richness and the poor man's righteousness in his poverty? i need some clarification here.
No, I don't believe this parable is about richness or poverty being an indication of their standing with God. Nor is it about being sinful or righteous because of their financial condition. During the time of Jesus' ministry the Pharisees believed that if you were rich it was a sign that your "righteous" activities had found favor with God and He was blessing you with wealth. And poverty was the result of God withholding blessings because of some sin in the life of the poor person. The parable is, in one respect, about our relationship with God regardless of the amount of things we have in this life. The rich man did not simply eat but he feasted sumptuously every day while the poor man, Lazarus, lay at the entrance to the rich man's home hungering. And he was not only hungry but miserable being full of sores. The dogs came to the aid of the sufferer by cleaning his sores. What was the rich man's response to this poor man's needs? The parable answers this by letting us see the rewards which each will receive in the life to come. The parable (or prophecy?) found at Matthew 25:31-46 is also instructive. Those with a saving relationship with God are studying His Word (Moses and the prophets) and serving those in need around us (poor hungry Lazarus covered in sores). The Pharisees did study Scripture but were lacking spiritual discernment and guidance to understand what God is really like. God is love. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.(Micah 6:8) Moses and the prophets taught them to love God ultimately and to love their neighbor as they loved themselves. Guided by the Holy Spirit and empowered for service they could have been a blessing to those around them. Instead of blessing, the Pharisee burdened those around them with an abundance of man made restrictions and separated themselves from the needy thereby misrepresenting the character of God by declaring Gentiles, slaves, women, the poor, the sick, the disabled, the possessed and others to be second class citizens or even cursed by God. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus was first declared to the Pharisees but is also meant for us today. Finally, it's not what we have but who we know!
The lesson for today help us to see how important it is to stop for a minute in our crazy daily lives and see where are we standing. Every day God gives us the opportunity to come to him, ask him for his forgiveness and salvation; However, we are always too busy to talk to him.
Our days are full of troubles and never ending shores that we decide to take over and in the process we expend so much time in figuring things out that by the end of the day we are exhausted. It is like the rich man who lives hi days without taking the time to see what else is around him.
We need to remember that today is a gift and tomorrow we don't know. However, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't make plans or prepare for the future. God wants us to life our lives in full and that includes taking the time to talk to him and sharing our time and goods with others as well.
This parable is a serious warning from Jesus to all mankind. In the parable the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to him and give him water. Abraham laments in verse 26 "between us and you there is a great chasm fixed." The chasm is between God and mankind, and it was caused by sin. Only Jesus can bridge the great gap when we recognize He died to save us and we truly repent and follow Him. The cross bridges the chasm between God and us.
What a Parable!
Does it really matter who we hear it from? How often is a deep, meaningful, lifesaving & powerful MESSAGE overlooked and ignored because of its MESSENGER! Christ himself came here and was despised and rejected by the high officials partly bcos in their eyes he was way too "meek & lowly" to be a king. Their idea of a king was was one filled with pomp, pride and earthly wealth and riches...... Many dared not respond to his pleadings and teachings though his words reached the very core of their being. Let us strive to be inspired by the truth within the message! The rich man's request was intelligently dealt with by these words..."let them heed the words of the prophets that they have with them" Very well stated indeed, it's not a given that they would in fact heed the words of one from the dead anyway. He saw Lazarus by his gate daily in pain, hunger & suffering yet that didn't move him to display compassion. How sad indeed. . . Like I always say... So Help us Lord...Amen
From another viewpoint, this parable teaches us about how we are doing not only with our physical riches but the spiritual riches we've been blessed with as Adventist: daily sabbath school study, solid Biblical doctrines, the Gift of Prophecy etc. Like Lazarus "who was laid at the gate desiring to be fed with the crumbs," people are laid at our gates - homes, schools, workplaces etc - who may be satisfied with just the crumbs of the bread of life that we have been blessed with - just a bible verse, a kind word, a act of kindness, forgiveness, biblical counsel etc; They may not need a full meal at that point in time- a full Sabbath study or a full Sanctuary study etc. just the "crumbs". But are we only just faring sumptuously everyday on our riches or do we consider those around us to share the crumbs bread of life with? There are opportunities all around us and Heaven is interested in what we do with them.
Thanks for this insight. "As it was in the days of Christ, so it is now; the Pharisees do not know their spiritual destitution." DA 280.3 Have we now become the Pharisees?
Prince,you're actually ryt here.The scripture says,"My ppl are perishing for lack of knowledge".Knowledge is food to the hungry soul.Lazarus sores were physical enough to be vividly seen.But do we know how many unseen souls are empty ,bleeding,and aching for lack of comfort?We're to be this soothing gel,this spiritual elavation catalyst and ensure they're brought out of this bondage.Happy Sabbath brethren.
The parable about "Lazarus" and "the rich man" is unique in that it is one of the few times when Jesus gives one of the characters in a parable a name. Usually, parables refer to "sons", "fathers", "sowers", but never by name. Usually, by function. Lazarus is not a sower, or a father, or anything. Jesus gives "Lazarus" a name, but nothing else. He is a beggar. He has no status, no wealth, no job or no function. (Where is Lazarus going to get his worthiness from?) But, he get a name, "Lazarus". The "rich man" gets purple cloth, indicating the highest status in the Roman world. (In the Roman Empire, it was illegal to wear purple unless you were a member of the Senatorial class or the Equestrian class.) The Rich Man gets his identity from his status and his wealth. The Rich Man is somebody, but Jesus doesn't give him a name. Thus, I think the story is about identity. The message is this: Your identity determines your destination. Who are you, really? Doctor, Lawyer, Father, Mother, Elder, Pastor, or . . . Justified Sinner. One whose identity has been so radically re-defined it is as if you have been .. . "born again", or "crucified with Christ and no longer live".