What Will Our Lives Be Compared To?
Good Morning Friends,
Friends we are a blessed people and our blessings will grow when we share our abundance for those who follow in our footsteps. Know the truth of what Jeremiah is teaching us for it is based in real life and can be observed in our own life experiences as well as in the natural world. Know the truth of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Friends, you are to have faith and choose wisely. You are to know the benefits of a life in Christ set for in the letter of Paul to the Corinthians. And know that there is a purpose behind the reality that you are blessed. And know that your life’s choices are linked to outcomes that will be used to describe you. And so this morning I ask, What Will Our Lives Be Compared To?
Scripture: Thus says the LORD: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the LORD. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NRSV)
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”
Luke 16:19-31 (NRSV)
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 (NRSV)
Message: Did you ever have to write an essay in school? I imagine that you did. Today we look at three examples of this academic exercise from scripture. Luke writes about Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the rich man. It shows the stark contrasts between two men during their lives and what happens after they die. Jeremiah compares, and contrasts dried up plants in the desert with strong fruitful trees, deliberately and carefully placed where they would be bound to flourish. Finally, Paul in his letter to the Corinthians helps us to consider what life would be like without Christ. And in them we discover that God is the one who keeps all His promises and always delivers. And here we realize that we put way too much trust in the wrong things. We trust in our accomplishments and the accomplishments of others only to discover that it is ultimately a misplaced trust. As God’s people we are to put our ultimate trust in the Lord and to act on that trust. Then if we feed on Christ, the Water of Life, He will keep us spiritually healthy and producing fruit and shade in abundance to share. That is the result of trust in God. The choice is clear and has eternal consequences. Friends nothing really compares to God. All other choices end badly. We can choose our sins, but we cannot choose our consequences. God has honored us with the freedom to choose paradise or punishment. And God does so want none to perish. Trust in God and choose wisely and your life will be compared to a tree that brought forth fruit shared.
And So, without Jesus we would be in a hell of worse mess than we are already. There would be no Gospel with Good News. There would not be any forgiveness of sins and we would be left with a thirst unquenched. We would be living a life of sin instead of His righteousness…a life of poverty instead of His riches…a life of guilt instead of His innocence….a life of sickness instead of His health…a life of shame instead of His glory, and a life of death instead of eternal life. Our life is to be compared to a reality of abundance in Christ.
Pray that we discover in contrast to fallible humans, that God is the unfailing one. Pray we realize that when God moves close to us in times of blessing, that we may not be able to benefit from it and enjoy it if we have so adapted ourselves to living on our own resources. Pray we are moved by God and experience His blessings. Pray we not wither and dry up and be of no use to anyone. Pray our roots of pride not soak up all the nutrients of a spiritual life in Christ. Pray we trust in God and be well watered, giving fruit and shade to others. Pray we offer our thanks to God by extending love and compassion towards those who are less fortunate. Pray we have faith in God that overflows in a life that glorifies God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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