Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Tithe Giving from the Heart
Bible portion: St Luke 16:19-31
St Luke 16.25 ( New Living Translation)
“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.
Devotion:Firstly, as we dwell in the Scripture Portions for today in St. Luke 16:19-31, we see in this chapter, Jesus's two distinct parables to educate the masses and the people gathered around Jesus to listen to the teachings. The Parable we will focus on today is about The Rich Man and Lazarus. I am assuming many of us are familiar with the Parable, however, there are a couple of points I wanted to focus on today for our brief devotional today.
The Rich Man (and we do not know his name) as we read in the Parable had everything plenty in his life, he probably lived in the ‘lap of luxury ‘in a palatial home, wore the best of clothes, and rode in the fanciest of vehicles during his time. However, the reality check comes to him, when his life on Earth ends and he must deal with where he has to spend the rest of his life. The Rich Man then wakes up and as we read, he is shouting to our beloved patriarch Father Abraham, as the Rich Man is in anguish and suffering in pain. The Rich Man was hurt even more and exasperated, that a poor man like Lazarus with sores who was always found outside the gates of the rich man's palatial home was now sitting next to Father Abraham in Heaven. I have chosen today’s key verse from verse 24 where Father Abraham aptly responds to the rich man by saying and I paraphrase, “ You had everything in life that you wanted and Lazarus had nothing, and today, you are suffering while Lazarus is being comforted “
All of us need to take a step back and ponder the words of our Patriarch Father Abraham to the rich man. Are we going to face a similar situation, Are we going to be exposed like the rich man, Are we going to be in a situation where we enjoyed all the benefits in the richness of life here on Earth but forgot all about giving back to God and sharing our wealth with those around us who were in dire need, who were in poverty, who did not have even morsel of food to eat, or proper clothes or even makeshift roof over their heads. Did we turn a blind eye to those in need, did we somehow in the hustle and bustle of our lives, chasing the American dream, forget those suffering around us and did we somehow make the same mistakes as the rich man in this parable? God has benevolently blessed us as we live in this Great Land that has plenty of everything and as we enjoy the benefits of this Great Land there are so many people around us, who cannot even dream of having what we have in life. We may have not deliberately done so in our lives, but somehow like the rich man, we may have had ‘ plenty of everything ‘ while we ignored people like Lazarus who had ‘ nothing in life.
The Rich Man (and we do not know his name) as we read in the Parable had everything plenty in his life, he probably lived in the ‘lap of luxury ‘in a palatial home, wore the best of clothes, and rode in the fanciest of vehicles during his time. However, the reality check comes to him, when his life on Earth ends and he must deal with where he has to spend the rest of his life. The Rich Man then wakes up and as we read, he is shouting to our beloved patriarch Father Abraham, as the Rich Man is in anguish and suffering in pain. The Rich Man was hurt even more and exasperated, that a poor man like Lazarus with sores who was always found outside the gates of the rich man's palatial home was now sitting next to Father Abraham in Heaven. I have chosen today’s key verse from verse 24 where Father Abraham aptly responds to the rich man by saying and I paraphrase, “ You had everything in life that you wanted and Lazarus had nothing, and today, you are suffering while Lazarus is being comforted “
All of us need to take a step back and ponder the words of our Patriarch Father Abraham to the rich man. Are we going to face a similar situation, Are we going to be exposed like the rich man, Are we going to be in a situation where we enjoyed all the benefits in the richness of life here on Earth but forgot all about giving back to God and sharing our wealth with those around us who were in dire need, who were in poverty, who did not have even morsel of food to eat, or proper clothes or even makeshift roof over their heads. Did we turn a blind eye to those in need, did we somehow in the hustle and bustle of our lives, chasing the American dream, forget those suffering around us and did we somehow make the same mistakes as the rich man in this parable? God has benevolently blessed us as we live in this Great Land that has plenty of everything and as we enjoy the benefits of this Great Land there are so many people around us, who cannot even dream of having what we have in life. We may have not deliberately done so in our lives, but somehow like the rich man, we may have had ‘ plenty of everything ‘ while we ignored people like Lazarus who had ‘ nothing in life.
Prayer:
Almighty and Gracious Lord, as we have plentiful of everything in life, let us remember those who have nothing and if we can in any little way alleviate their poverty and nothingness, allow our hearts to give to those in need. in Jesus ‘s precious name. AMEN
Thought for the day
Thought for the day
“ Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way into my heart.” — John Wesley (1703-91)
Abraham Kurien, Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, Houston, Texas.