Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Luke 16 and Psalm 32

²⁶ 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.

Jesus’ parable about the unnamed rich man and the beggar named Lazarus gives us many insights into what happens after physical death. It shows us that there is a “judgment” that happens at the moment of death; namely, a judgment in which our decision about how to respond to the LORD in this life is cemented into a permanent state by death. It shows us that when God honours our own decision to live with Him or without Him in this way, we consciously experience the outcome of that decision after death. Jesus variously describes that outcome with words like ‘paradise’ or ‘torment’. Very soberingly, Jesus’ parable also shows us that this is not something that can be undone.

But … that was not His main point in telling the parable. His main point was that those who are able to hear His parable (then) or read it (now) are still alive and thus in a position to make the right decision to respond to God with faith and obedience. In the context of the chapter, the particular obedience that was on Jesus’ mind at the time was related to the right use of the material wealth God has given us in this world for the cause of His Kingdom. He was saying: Don’t misuse the wealth that God has entrusted to you, in the selfish pursuit of your own enjoyment in the here and now. That will lead only to an eternal loss. Instead, faithfully use the wealth God has entrusted to you to further the cause of the Kingdom, and reap the benefits forever.

Life application: Take every opportunity today to apply your time, energy, skills and resources for the benefit and blessing of others. Invest in God’s purposes and the pursuit of His Kingdom.