God’s Holy Word holds for us many firsts. Today let’s explore the last first. The question is: “What happens when we die?” The only glimpse into this question is found in Luke 16:19-31. Let’s take a few moments and explore this topic.
Two men are found in this passage, a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. We are told that this rich man had the ‘good life’. He ate well. He had plenty of money. He had a nice house, complete with servants. The story of Lazarus is not as great. He was dead broke. We read of no house. We do read about his terrible health. He was a beggar. He had no food, other than what others would be willing to part with. No matter how different they were, they both met the same end; they both died. Lazarus woke up in a place called Abraham’s Bosom and the rich man woke up in torments. As the rich man requests a few things, his pleas are rejected. He does have the gift (or curse) of remembering.
As we look closely at this passage a few things begin to blaze to our view. First notice both men died. We will not escape this life without passing through the dark veil known as death, if Jesus tarries. We can have the best life. We can be a poor beggar. We will all fade away. Only our memories will remain for our family and friends left on this Earth. We need to make sure we are well aware of this fact.
Secondly, we are all going somewhere. There is never a point at which these men have a third option. The rich (selfish) man was rewarded for his life. Lazarus was rewarded for his life. We must understand they did not receive their individual reward due to rich or poor but rather by the way they lived. I wish we could have read more about the life of Lazarus. I am convinced that we would read of a compassionate and giving poor man. We must all keep in the forefront of our minds that reward comes from how we live this life.
Thirdly, we must understand that when this life is over, we do not get a chance to correct any mistake or re-do any portion of our lives. We need to live daily like this is our last day as we do not know when our last day will be. By doing this, we can be guaranteed a home in Heaven with the Father.
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