Reflection

Luke 16:19-31

Today, as we are traveling with Jesus, the idea of money and finances comes up. The religious leaders don’t seem to be pleased with what Jesus is sharing. In his first parable, he speaks of a shrewd manager who is at risk of losing his job and goes to try and make friends by canceling portions of their debt. The manager’s boss commends him for this. Then, the story of today’s focus, Jesus talks about a rich man and beggar who die. The rich man ends up in Hades while the beggar ends up in Heaven. The rich man, of course, wants to warn his family, and Abraham in this parable says that they have already been warned by Moses and the prophets just as he (the rich man) was.

The first image that comes to mind for many as we read this passage is that of the stoplight beggar. We think of the many responses we should, could, and do have. In some cases, we feel guilty that we don’t give to them. In other cases, we are afraid that giving them money might not be a good idea as they will just use it all on the wrong things. And in my case, I’m busy, and I don’t carry cash… I want to challenge us to take this story a step further, however. Instead of thinking about this story as about how we treat the beggar well, I want to challenge us to take an inventory of our lives and how we judge everyone who we encounter.

How do we judge the employees of restaurants and grocery stores? How do we judge our coworkers, family, and friends? How do we judge ourselves? See, the rich man had a comfortable life but ultimately didn’t use that wealth and riches as God had expected. He thought at the end of the day he was good because his finances and life were going well. Yet when he “arrives” at the afterlife, he is surprised to realize that the beggar who didn’t have really anything to his name was in Heaven when he was in Hades.

I don't want to miss the beauty of eternity with our God so I'm hoping to avoid the blinding that wealth might cause.

Devotional Questions

Are you judging your life by God’s standards or the world’s standards?

What are God’s standards for this life? How does this relate to the grace of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection?

What changes in your life do you need to make this week to live life in step with God’s standards?

Lord, we are saved through faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. That faith propels us towards living by your standard as we follow Christ’s teaching and example. Today we pray that you would help us to clearly see and follow your standard, and we thank you for the opportunity to live by it through our faith in Jesus. Amen