Finally Home

My pastor recently preached on the rich man and the poor man. As I listened to the message it really had an impact on me. The suffering we experience on earth is so temporary. It helped to put this life in prospective of eternity.

The extremely rich man wore fine linen and every meal he ate was a great feast. Every day he sees the poor, starving man walking by his gate. He is disgusted by him.

The rich man is aware of the poor man, yet never reaches out to him. Never even offers him the scraps from his table.

The poor man died.
The rich man also died.

The poor man didn't have a funeral. His body was most likely thrown outside the city somewhere.

The rich man probably had a lavish funeral with half the city attending.

But once dead... the tables turned...

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. (I can just see this weak, limp man laying there and the angels sweeping down and lovingly carrying him to Abraham's side.)

The rich man died and was in hell. He was miserable and in torment for the very first time. He is able to see the poor man in the distance. He cried out for mercy. Mercy he never gave. But no mercy comes. It is over. It is too late.

How we spend this earthly life has an eternal consequence.

I can imagine as the rich man lay dying he was terrified. On earth he had servants and riches, and control of all around him... but now he was dying. He had trusted in himself his whole life instead of Jesus. But now it was different. He was not in control. He no longer had servants, he was the servant. He was a fool and now it was too late. His death must have been excruciating. Knowing he was wrong and knowing it was too late to do anything about it. He would spend eternity paying for this mistake.

This earthly home is so real to us... it is all we know. But it is not our home. Can you imagine the suffering the poor man endured during his life? Rejection, starvation, isolation. What a dismal life he must have lived. But in the end he was able to enjoy the lavishness of heaven. For the poor man to go to heaven, he had to trust in Jesus. He had hope. Hope that there was something better coming.

When the poor man’s stomach ached, and his body failed him, as he went through each difficult day on earth, something compelled him to press on. He pressed on because he saw with heavenly eyes the joy that awaited him. He could eat the few crumbs he managed to find with gratitude because he looked forward to the feast that was being prepared.

As the poor man lay dying, standing at death's door, I can imagine that although from an earthly standpoint it would have been the darkest day of his life, I am confident that poor man smiled... he welcomed death. He was about to meet his Savior and this was a joyous day. The day he had been waiting for. His suffering was over. He was finally home.