Living in the Spirit
September 21, 2016
Scripture Reading: Luke 16:19-31
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 16:27-31
I know it is not Christmas, but I always think of Scrooge when I read this scripture. Remember in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, how Scrooge’s old friend Marley appears to him to tell him that he would have three visitors. These ghostly visions are coming to relate his past to his present and warn him about their shortfalls impacting his future. Unlike the prediction of our scripture today, Scrooge gets the message. He repents of his greed and miserliness. He receives the rewards of a loving family and a loving employee.
Abraham did not hold out much hope for the rich man’s brothers. The brothers, probably like the rich man, might have been so full of themselves they had no room in their life for God much less for being a partner in building the Kingdom of God.
Maybe it is time for each of us to consider the ghosts of our past and present to determine how they are shaping our future and that of the coming generations. The rewards of love are priceless.
Prayer: Lord, help us examine ourselves to see what from our past has filled us with anything that blocks your vision for us, what from our present is keeping us from loving like you love, and what is your hope for our future. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.