In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’    Luke 16:23-24 HCSB

Our scripture passage today is an excerpt from the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. In this parable Jesus tells of a poor man named Lazarus and a rich man. This rich man was described as dressing in fancy garments and living joyously in splendor every day. Lazarus was described as a poor man laying at the gate, covered in sores, longing to be fed the crumbs from the rich man’s table with dogs coming to lick his sores. Lazarus died and went to heaven and the rich man died and went to hell. The rich man agonized in the flames and asked that Lazarus be allowed to just come to him and give him one drop of cool water. But Abraham had to explain a few things to this rich man.

In verse  25, Abraham explained to him that he had received good things while on earth, but Lazarus suffered while on earth and is now being comforted in heaven. He then had to explain that heaven and hell were divided so that those in one could not cross over to the other. At this point Lazarus begs Abraham to send someone to his father’s house to warn his five brothers so that they do not suffer this same fate. Abraham tells the man that his brothers have prophets that are preaching God’s word to them. But he tells them that they will not listen to the prophets, but if someone rose from the dead they would listen to them. Abraham tells the rich man that if his family will not listen to the prophets, they surely won’t listen to someone even if they are risen from the dead.

It’s apparent that this rich man lived life without considering his eternal fate. It sounds as though he was selfish and lived a life of luxury with little concern for someone like Lazarus who was poor, hungry and sick. He chose to enjoy his wealth to the fullest and not worry about others. He suffered the price eternally.

Here in Louisiana we are experiencing temperatures in the mid to upper 90’s. Our humidity right now is at 95% which means it is not only hot out but very sticky and moist. Yesterday, I spent the morning walking and midday working in the yard. It was hot. It was miserable. When I finally stopped for the day, it was wonderful to come inside and get a nice shower and enjoy the cool air conditioning. I was able to get relief from the heat.

My friend, if you think it’s hot now, trust me you don’t want to spend an eternity in hell. Not only is hell described as having unbearable heat, but we are totally separated from God. If you have ever dealt with someone who is evil, remember that hell will be filled with evil people. It is run by the devil and his minions.

My former pastor used to say that if we go to hell we go there as trespassers. We were made to live in fellowship with God and spend an eternity with Him in heaven. There is no sin that is worth eternal damnation. If you are struggling with sin, turn to God today. He wants to help you. Yes, we may suffer here on earth, but it’s how we spend eternity that really matters. You may even take some heat from friends and family when you choose to follow Christ. But hopefully, they will come to understand and perhaps you can lead them to Christ before it’s too late. Trust in God, obey Him.

Better to suffer some heat down here than constant, eternal heat down there.

Have a great day!