1/16/11

Gen 39-41; Luke 16

Luke 16: 22-26

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abrahams side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and sae 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 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.’

As human form, Jesus felt what it could be to be greedy. He didn’t have to heal people, He didn’t have to feed people, He didn’t have to do anything for anyone. But also as a human, he felt our raw emotion. The needs. The desires. The desperation. Than as divine spirit He knew that whatever He could give to His people, He would do it without hesitation. But he wanted us humans to feel others desperation for a better way of living, so we could give them a piece of heaven on earth.

People that have more money or articles have the ability to give someone who doesn’t have those things a piece of heaven. Heaven is about love, praise, forgiveness, joy, peace, kindness…ALL THE TIME. While on earth there are not many places that you can feel all those things at the same time. There are people who are going through hell and don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. They see homelessness, they see hunger, they see dirt, they see tears. But I as 1 person can only do so much. But if people band together to give more, to love more, to reveal God more., those desperate people will be able to believe that there is a God that loves them.

The rich man in the scripture is just like any one of us. His name could be Melissa. But I refuse to be like the rich man…I refuse to allow myself see a hungry person and do nothing about. I refuse to believe that poverty is taboo. I want to stare it in the face and kick its butt. I want to stand against hunger, poverty, abuse, desperation. I know I’m only one person…but so was Jesus.

Lord,

Thank you for constant strength. You give me more each day so I can give it back to your people. When others are hungry, confused, desperate allow me to be an instrument in them finding you. Help open my eyes to more of what is going on in this world. Don’t let me sit back and relax, make me confront this and help as much as I can. Forgive me for my oblivious attitude, forgive me for my selfishness. I am Yours

I forever love you always