Most of you have met beggars on the street. What do you think of them? There are those who say, "Beggars deserve their status. They have abused alcohol or drugs, they do not want to work or study in order to qualify for a decent job." Others say, "Beggars are victims of injustice. We have to provide them with opportunities to better their lives."
And the rich? What do you think of them? There are those who say, "The rich deserve all that they have. They have talent and the willingness to work hard. The desire fo make money motivates them to develop businesses the supply the rest of us with products, services and jobs." Other say, "They have robbed the poor, because their lifestyle depends on the labor of the lower classes y it would be better to feed the poor with the money the rich spend on big houses and fine clothes."
The Bible says: "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all" (Ecclesiastes 9:11) and "Your Father Who is in heaven...makes the sun to shine on the evil and the good, and sends rain to fall on the just and unjust" (Matthew 5:45).
That is to say, God is the source of all good things. In His great mercy, God cares for all according to His holy will. Sometimes we may not understand God's judgment, why this person prospers in his work, while that person does not. Sometimes a person gains wealth because of hard work and talent, but in other cases because of "luck". Somtimes a person loses all material possessions as a result of sinful or foolish behavior, but not in other cases. Certainly there are many people in Chile and Guatemala who are injured and homeless because of natural disasters, not because of any fault of their own.
And also, my friends, in this life there are always those who have much more possessions than we do and those who have much less. Furthermore, in the course of our lives, it is possible for our fortunes to change. At times we may be rich, at other times in want. The question for us is not, why do some people have more or less than others?, but rather, how should we use what God has given us?
In truth, we do not deserve anything good from God. In His eyes, we are all dirty, disgusting beggars like Lazarus in our Lord's parable. We are sinners who deserve eternal punishment in hell. By nature, we are enemies and rebels against God. However, as today's epistle (1 John 4:16-21) says, God is love and in His love sent His only Son to be the Savior of the world. Christ suffered and died on the cross, so that we might have the promise of eternal life with God. Therefore, we will have no fear on Judgment Day, for we will be saved by grace.
This the promise for all, and we also may trust God to bless us in other ways that we do not deserve. We have the right to ask Him for whatever we need in the holy name of Jesus.
That is why our prayers consist of two parts, the petitions and the giving of thanks. We have only to ask and God will provide, so we always give thanks to the Lord for His blessings, for example, before meals.
We also show our gratitude to God in our actions toward other people. As our epistle says, "We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. "
Therefore, we say, as in our Old Testament lesson (Deuteronomy 6:4-13), "Love the Lord your God with all your hear, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength" and at the same time, "Love you neighbor as yourself." Our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded this, saysing the first part is the first commandment and the second is the second commandment and "on these two commandments depend all the Law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:40).
So what was the problem with the rich man in the parable? He was not condement because of the quantity of his possessions. Possibly he conducted his business honestly and worked hard. Perhaps he cheated no one. However, he did not love God. He did not recognize God as the source of .his wealth He thought only of his own pleasures. He did not consider his eternal destiny, which is more important that socio-economic status. Our status in this world may change, but the final judgment of God will never change. Those who believe in Jesus Christ will have eternal life in heaven, but those who reject Him will suffer for all eternity.
Because he did not have the love of God in his hear, the rich man did not demonstrate God's love to Lazarus the beggar. It would have been a simple thing for the rich man to share some of the food from his daily feasts with Lazarus, but he did not do so.
It is important for to look around for Lazarus in our lives. Who do we know as a humble person in need? Let us care for such people in the best way that we know how.
As sinners we are all beggars, but because of Jesus we are children of the King of Kings. Let us live as such. Amen.
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