Who Will Look Up at You?

“So he called to them, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire’” (Luke 16:24).

For whatever reason, I reflected on this biblical story yesterday. In the passage, Lazarus, a former beggar, is in Heaven sitting next to the patriarch, Abraham, while the former rich man is looking up at Lazarus from Hell. While on Earth, the rich man paid no attention to Lazarus, even though he passed by him every day. Lazarus, covered with sores, was perched at the front gate of the influential man’s house and all he desired were some leftovers from the man’s five-course dinner. Now roles are reversed, and all the rich man wants are a few drops of water to cool off his body, singed by the eternal fire of Hades.

It’s a gruesome scene, isn’t it? But here’s what I envisioned. What if once we get to Heaven we will be able to see all those who didn’t make it past the pearly gates? What if the ones, in our circle of influence who we didn’t share the gospel with, could look up at us with pain in their eyes and say, “Why didn’t you say something? Could you share just a drop of water with me? It’s unbearable down here.”

Someone needs to write a book, Hell is for Real.

2 Thessalonians 1:9 says that those who don’t accept Jesus as Lord and Savior will be “punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” Matthew 13:50 says non-believers will be “thrown into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

But for some reason we gloss over these passages in the Bible. Why don’t we take them seriously?

I find that family members are the toughest mission field, so I’ve written letters with my reason for hope as the focal point. I am trying to do better about sharing Jesus wherever I am, whenever there’s an opening to speak about Him. For whatever reason, I can share about Jesus from a platform, but one-on-one is uncomfortable for me. I’m trying to get out of my box.

Lord, help me be a light for you.

Those of us who know the gospel have been given a responsibility by Jesus to share it with others. As he ascended into Heaven, our Savior’s last words to the disciples, and to us, were, “Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of this age” (Matthew 28:19–20).

I don’t want anyone looking up at me one day, asking, “Lisa, why didn’t you care enough to tell me about Jesus?”

So, if you happen to be reading this blog today and you don’t have a relationship with the risen Lord, it’s out of God’s love for you that you were led here. Don’t delay! If you have never prayed to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, here’s a simple prayer to lift up: Lord God, I know I’ve done some things wrong and have fallen short of your perfect standard, therefore separating me from you. I realize your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross and on the third day, rose again to take care of that gap that exists between me and you. Today, I ask for forgiveness of all my wrongdoing called sin and I commit my life to you. In the name of Jesus, AMEN.

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