Read Luke 16:19-31

What happens when we neglect God and live for ourselves?

Jesus’ parable of the rich man and the poor beggar, Lazarus, flows logically from what precedes it in Luke’s narrative. The story of the prodigal son (15:11-32) sets forth God’s grace, given freely to all who will come. Then we meet the dishonest manager who thought money could buy anything (16:1-18).

In this story, we see what the end of it all is (16:23). Final and irreversible putting right of the inequities of mortal life does not wait for the end of the world. It begins for us when our personal world ends—the moment we die.

Was this man in hell because he was rich and had handsome clothes? Did he lose his reward because he failed to do good works? Or was it because he was self-centered? Is his sin not so much his lifestyle as that he thought only of himself?

What plain teachings can we gather from Jesus’ story? The actions and decisions about God are final and permanent. Not only is the rich man conscious, he has memory. Christianity knows nothing of “forgetfulness” in the next world. He remembers opportunities forfeited. It is interesting that Jesus considers the Scriptures an adequate guide for the honest seeker after truth (v. 31).

This is the world system: we plan with the “Big I” in control. God’s reality is frighteningly different.

Read Luke 16:1-18

Jesus’ story has a contemporary ring.

Two thousand years later, people still deal in wheat and olive oil. We call them commodities traders. It is a perfectly honorable way to make a living. What is wrong here is that this trader’s agent lost his job for some kind of dishonesty. We are not told exactly what he did. Perhaps he put part of the earnings in his own pocket without reporting it. Ever hear of that in our day?

In any case, the fellow was out of a job. Finding himself in a tight spot, he employed a polite sort of blackmail. The manager rigged the prices so that the debtors would have to pay off when the manager later needed help.

Jesus comments on what the man did with biting sarcasm. “Go ahead,” He says. “Use your wealth to buy friends. When that’s over, see if the same scheme will get you into heaven” (v. 9). He also states a principle of worldly wisdom that we see around us every day of the week. Their peers admire the shrewd managers, the people who shave the truth and trim ethics. They’re smarter than the dull Christians who tell the truth, even to their own disadvantage (v. 8).

Others may sneer, as the Pharisees did that day. But it does not change the standard. Some persons value sharp dealing, but it “is detestable in God’s sight” (v. 15).

Read Luke 15:1-32, Take 1

What is the true purpose of any church’s community outreach?

Aiding the poor and feeding the hungry, worthy as such work is, should never be an end in itself, but rather a vehicle for teaching people of Jesus’ love and salvation.

In Jesus’ day organized religion had little time for the poor, and no regard at all for people engaged in what the religious leaders saw as disreputable occupations. Jesus not only talked with such sleazy characters, He even ate with them.

In response to this attitude, Jesus tells about three lost things—a sheep, a coin, and a son. His stories are so compelling that even persons who have not read the Bible know about the Prodigal Son.

The shepherd, the housewife, and the father all represent God. The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son all symbolize lost humanity.

While these stories teach several truths, one is unique to the Judeo-Christian tradition: the worth of the individual. The shepherd did not say he had 99 sheep; forget the last one. The woman did not say, “I have nine coins. I won’t worry about the tenth.” Still less could the father disregard his wayward son.

Buddhism speaks of one person as a drop of water lost in the ocean of life. Not Christianity.

We tie yellow ribbons to trees to let one wanderer know he is welcomed home. So does God.

Read Luke 14:25-35

Did you ever count your money before deciding whether to buy something?

Of course you have. Jesus says it’s no different if you are thinking of following Him. First are the claims of discipleship on home and family. Jewish and Muslim parents may publicly declare dead a child who becomes a Christian.

Jesus’ hearers knew about crucifixion, a common punishment in that day. Crucify your own desires, He says. Even if it is excruciatingly painful, let nothing interfere with your first loyalty, Christ.

Jesus did not discourage discipleship. But He does warn against jauntiness, embarking as a fair-weather Christian who quits when the demands of living by the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes proves difficult. Count the cost first, He warns.

God counted the cost, too, you know. Opening the way to redeem us meant the death of His Son. Evidently He decided we were worth it.

Finally, He warns of half-heartedness. Jesus uses a familiar commodity, salt, as an example. In a warm climate with no refrigeration, salt was vital to preserve food. Salt was so valuable the Romans taxed it. As a result, doubtless much diluted salt came on the market. Jesus says if you are going to follow me, be 100 per cent. The true Christian life does for us what real salt does for food: preserves us for service in this world and the next. And it adds zest beyond measure to living.