The Rich Man & The Beggar

To start this devotion I want to jump straight into the scripture and let God’s Word do the teaching.

Luke 16:19-31 NKJV
19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ 27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”
What a powerful message. (Before I continue, I need to add this disclaimer: by no means am I condemning anyone who has money or is considered rich. Having money doesn’t make you a bad person, just like being poor or a beggar doesn’t guarantee you eternal life. Money doesn’t count in this spiritual game, it’s all about who you trust with your life and who you allow to be the Lord of your life). It’s amazing to see how the tables turn with Lazarus the beggar is called up to Heaven and our rich man is cast out into the lake of fire called Hell. We must understand that it was Lazarus’ choice and faith in God that granted him a place in Heaven, same is true for the rich man in Hell. I particularly like this passage because it shows the reality of what goes on in Hell. It’s not a party, it’s not just a prison, it’s a fire pit that burns forever, a place you can never escape from, and where torment is forever. We don’t understand such a place on earth, because no such place exists on earth.

Personal Story
The best I ever came to understanding a small piece of what Hell was like was back in high school. A friend and I were known in our community for being pyrotechnics (we liked playing with fire, explosives, anything dangerous really…) We were always looking to build a bigger, better bonfire, one time we exceeded our expectations. We had several trees cut down on my friends property, large trees, along with several other papers, etc that we used for kindling. I’d say the fire was easily 15ft across, and most definitely the hottest blaze I ever saw and felt (in fact I wore sunglasses to look at it, and it was 10pm). Well at one point I noticed a stray piece of paper, some important document of mine or my friend’s that hadn’t burned. I tried to reach into the blaze to move the paper and lost my footing. I started to fall into the flame and in that instant I recalled this story from the Bible, of just how much torment Hell would be. Luckily my friend was there to help me and kept me from the flames.

The hottest fire you can imagine is still nothing compared to the flames of Hell. Why even chance it? You have nothing to lose by choosing Christ. But you have everything to lose by rejecting Him.

Bro. Austin Chapman is the Youth Minister
at Sugar Creek Baptist in Murray, KY and founder
of Inflamed Church Ministries. View Austin's
personal online ministry blog iPursueWorship.