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The rich man and Lazarus

Let us meditate on the passage concerning the rich man and Lazarus spoken by our Lord in Luke 16:19-31.

This incident starts with the words “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day”. This is not a parable but a real incident. The Bible does not say that this rich man was a sinner or coveted the money of others. Nor does it portray him as a thief who steals the money of others. He was clothed in purple and fine linen. There is nothing wrong in someone who clothes himself or herself in purple and fine linen. During the New Testament days, there were kings and rulers who had clothed themselves in purple and fine linens. The rich man fared sumptuously every day. Similarly, there is nothing wrong in someone who fares sumptuously every day so long as he or she works with his/her own hands and earns a living without coveting the possession of others. A man or a woman cannot be sent to the hell just because he or she fared sumptuously every day.

The rich man did not commit any act worth banishing him to the hell. Then what was wrong with him?

There was a certain beggar named Lazarus who was laid at his gate, full of sores. Certainly, the rich man was not at fault for the beggar full of sores being brought to his gate and laid thereon. If the rich man had not committed any acts that warranted him to be sent to the hell, he would have certainly committed some acts of omission.

When the rich man ate, the beggar only desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. The Bible says that he had five brethren. This shows that he was unmarried. He would have enjoyed his material life with his five brethren in his bungalow. Though he noticed the beggar at his gate, he did not bother to share his food with the beggar. The beggar was laid at his gate by others who thought that the rich man could feed the beggar at the gate. Secondly, the rich man did not dress the sores of the beggar. The beggar was hungry and suffered in pain. Though the rich man saw the dogs lick his sores, he did not come forward to bind the wounds of the beggar.

God did not want the rich man to go out in search of a beggar with sores for service. But, God did want the rich man to minister to the beggar who was laid at his gate.

Today, many rich people including evangelists and pastors who have been materially blessed by God see the poor Lazarus lying at their gates. The poor people like Lazarus are within the reach of these rich people. If they do not minister to the poor saints or to the poor people in their vicinities, they may find themselves in the hell fire.

I know personally a dear woman of God in Delhi, who is a senior government officer of the Indian Customs and Central Excise Service, who had accepted Jesus Christ when she was a Hindu Brahmin. She happened to see a leper on her way to the office. She began to minister to him by giving him food, etc. Then she arranged with a charitable organization of Mother Teresa for shifting the leper to one of their homes. Today the leper is leading a decent life there. She is like the Good Samaritan who not only dressed the wounds of the man wounded by the dacoits but also took him on his own beast, brought him to an inn and then made provisions for his future (Luke 10:34-35). The priest and the Levite passed by on the other side. Today also, the ministers of God who have been materially blessed by God pass by on the other side. God will not judge their ministries by the number of meetings held by them or by the number of books written by them but by the number of individuals ministered to by them through their own hands. By preaching the gospel or by working miracles and wonders in His Name, the minister of God concerned does not serve God but merely obeys the great commission of Jesus Christ. Nobody can claim to serve God if he or she does not clothe the naked or minister to the sick or feed the hungry or minister to the stranger.

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Mat.25:42-46)

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- Job Anbalagan