The heart of Man

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE HEART OF MAN

Luke 16:19-31

19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30 "'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'" 

NIV

Once again, a very familiar narrative shows us the difference between the sheep and the goats, except this story is about someone in need and with plenty. Interestingly, the beggar is named, and the rich man remains nameless. Perhaps this could be because the name of Lazarus was found in the Book of Life, and the name of the rich man was blotted out. We can see that because the name of Lazarus was found in the Book of Life, he went to the side of Abraham, which represents heaven. The Jews referred to God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, the father of the twelve tribes, so this was their lineage to being sons of God, his chosen people. Yet, this poor rich man could have used his wealth to help others, but just like that rich farmer who built bigger barns, thinking he had enough for his own pleasures and thought he could sit back and enjoy life, yet God demanded his soul the very night because he was not rich toward God. It is not that wealth is bad, although Jesus did say it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Perhaps wealth has a way of bending a person’s heart toward their treasure on earth, rather than to store up treasures in heaven where rust cannot corrode. We are seeing how this wealth, or we should say this corruptive wealth which caused a self-centered selfish attitude that led to the fires of hell instead to the side of Abraham. Let us be careful because, once again, we cannot serve two masters, God, and money. That is a simple choice if we look at the result of loving God and of loving money. Who in their right mind would choose to bend their hearts toward what would lead them into the fires of hell, when the free gift of God is eternal life at the side of Abraham, or in heaven with Jesus. The choice is clear, we chose Jesus. Our hearts are bent toward God. It is impossible to split our hearts, for then we would be living with a divided heart, and that would not lead to life, but to death, for a divided heart cannot support life in a body.