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The Rich Man

"And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you 
change and become like little children, 
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" 
(Matthew 18:3/4)
Did you know some people think they have this "God thing" all figured out?

Yes, they think just because they're educated and/or rich and/or famous, they got this and they don't need God. Their attitude is like that of the rich man1 in the bible. He didn't think he needed God, because he thought he had it all together. He thought he was so important with his money, his position, and his political relationships, that he wouldn't have to want for anything. 

Yet the reality was (and is), without God, who is real by the way, the rich man was a nobody. He was not important and his position and political relationships were temporary at best. He wasn't anyone to be impressed with. To God it would take a whole lot more than that, especially since God gave it to him in the first place and could take it away in an instant. Further, the rich man didn't help people and according to his actions he was selfish and felt entitled. Lazarus, who was a beggar, would often ask him for the scraps left over from his household, but he ignored him and treated him worse than a dog. 

Both the rich man and Lazarus eventually die and guess who makes it to heaven?

Lazarus. 

And as you can surmise, well at least some of you, the rich man went to Hades (hell) and guess who he wanted to help him get to heaven? 

Lazarus

But it was too late for that. 

The rich man was a day late and a dollar short. 

He was in hell forever and was forever tormented, because he didn't give his life to Christ when he had the chance. He didn't repent and ask for forgiveness when he had the chance. He didn't confess with his mouth and believe with his heart when he had the chance. He simply didn't ask for salvation2. That's what he should have been begging for, if anything. Moreover, while he was living and in his greed and arrogance he felt as though he were bigger than God. But in Hades he became the beggar and Lazarus became the rich man -- Lazarus went to heaven. In Hades he continued to beg God to allow him to cross over to heaven, but the Lord told him there was no way to cross over either way -- no hell to heaven and no heaven to hell. What was done was done. The rich man became so desperate in his agony, pain, and suffering that he asked God to allow Lazarus' spirit to visit his family's house to help them see the light3. But the Lord told him his family had Moses and the other prophets to help them and if his family didn't listen to Moses and the prophets, they wouldn't be neither convinced if someone rose from the dead. In other words, if the rich man's family was hardheaded like he was, then they would meet a similar demise.

None of us has God or anything else all figured out. That's a fact. It's up to each one of us to turn our lives over to someone who created us in the first place. God is the only answer. It doesn't matter if he allows us to be rich or if we are poor. 

He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life (John 14:6). Period. End of story. 


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Footnotes:
1. Luke 16:19-31
2. Romans 10:9-10 
3. John 8:12


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