Look With Your Heart

Read Luke 16: 19-31

Human beings, for whatever reasons, are mistrustful. Whenever we are told something that seems beyond the scope of possibility or doesn't fit into the way we think things are or should be, we question it and demand proof before we will believe it. In Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man, we run into this (Is this the same Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead, the brother of Mary and Martha? Possibly, but we dont' know for sure.). Working our way backward through the parable, we see Abraham, the patriarch of the Jews, explaining that Moses and the Prophets, in the Law and prophecies, have told the people of Israel of the life that God demands and expects. Part of these demands include the care of the poor, crippled, widowed, orphaned, etc. From the beginning of the parable, we see that the rich man paid little attention to the beggar at his gate (Lazarus). This is a direct violation of God's expectations and law. Therefore, he finds himself doomed to eternal separation from God in hell. It is at this moment that he realizes that the laws of the Scriptures were in fact true. His torment in hell was the proof he got for not heeding the expectations of God. So he begs that Lazarus might go and warn his brothers (whom we can infer lead the same kind of life he did), yet is told that his brothers have already, through the Law and the Prophets, been given all the need to know.

In a mistrusting world, full of mistrusting people, we have already recieved from Jesus all that we need to know concerning faith and the ways of God. The decision is ours as to whether or not we trust in what Jesus says. To take it a step further, the decision is ours to trust that the death and Resurrection of Christ is sufficient for our salvation. Everything we need to know about God's expectations and the life God intends for us is contained within the pages of Scripture. Our choice is to trust God with our heart or to continually demand some sort of proof.
God of Truth, enable us to trust you with our hearts, even as our minds and eyes question. Save us from constantly trying to put you to the test so that we might bask in the abundance of the life you promise us. Through Christ, AMEN.