Luke 16:19-31
The Rich Man and Lazarus
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 Hades, 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 set in place, 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 family, 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.’”
When I read the Bible and read Jesus' different parables, many things stand out in His lessons...One of them is how God looks at man and how we view the men we meet...God looks at man differently than how a man looks at other men...God judges men by what is in their hearts...He looks inwardly at judging a man...While man seems to look at outward appearances in their judging...
God maybe looks at the suffering ones and the weary and the ill ones, and the outcast and perhaps sees those as men who have suffered and knows that their troubles have tried them in such a fashion that He sees that they need mercy...He knows what has gone on with them inwardly and how their hearts have been affected in their lives by what has happened around them...While maybe He looks at the healthy, wealthy man, who has loved himself as one who needs more judgment than the one who has suffered much of the time...As I read the Bible, it seems God in His heart seeks to help the underdog...