Bible & Possessions预览

ETERNAL IMPACT

A dream:

Louis enjoyed a rich life. He also piously attended church and gave his tithes. Once in heaven, an angel showed him around. He saw the house of Derek the baker. It looked beautiful. "Ah, my house will be much nicer," Louis thought. The next house the angel pointed out was Theresa's. She worked all her life for the orphanage in the city. Her house looked like a palace. "That looks promising," Louis dreamed on. Eventually, they came to a ramshackle hovel. The angel pointed to it and said, "Now we have arrived at your house." "My house?" Louis said in dismay. "Yes, sorry," the angel replied apologetically, "this is all we could make from the materials you sent on for us to build with."

Of course, this is a made-up story, but it does teach us an important principle about how we deal with our possessions.

Our scripture reading is part of a well-known parable. It revolves around two main characters: the rich man, who remains nameless, and the poor Lazarus. It is a fascinating parable for many reasons, not least because it is the only parable in the New Testament in which Jesus talks directly about the unseen world. ( In all other parables, an earthly setting is the stage.) Jesus' story is in line with the Jewish view of the underworld at the time, called Hades in Greek. In the New Bible Translation, Hades is translated as the realm of the dead. According to the worldview at the time, it was literally under the earth and the heavens above. Lazarus finds solace in the patriarch Abraham after his death, but the rich man, whom Lazarus completely ignored during his earthly life, is tormented. The parable makes us realize that earthly possessions are only temporary, as is the enjoyment of them. At the end of the day, it's about how we use our property. Is it used only for ourselves or also to bless others and serve God's kingdom?

"Life is just a schoolroom with a glorious opportunity to prepare for eternity. We are so caught up with the affairs of this life that we give little attention to eternity. Most people are living 'for today' with barely a thought of eternity. What you do with Christ here and now decides where you shall spend eternity." Billy Graham.

CHALLENGE

Consider the impact that your spending will have on eternity. What we do with our possessions now will have an eternal impact. We will be judged on how we have used what God has trusted us with.