ESOCS Devotional 3 November 2024 – One Common Event
MEMORY VERSE: “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angel into Abraham’s bosom; the rich man also died and was buried.” Luke 19:22
TEXT: LUKE 16:19-31
“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
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Life is full of events per-time and we get fully engaged with them either as joyful or mournful attendees or as strategic event planners. Interestingly, we have successfully succeeded in classifying human events. We have events for the high class and one for the low class. We have events strictly by invitation and events open to all. There are also those who by all means attend events they were not invited just to feel among.
Hear this, whether you are an event owner, planner or attendee, irrespective of the category, there is a common and compulsory event for all; this event cuts across the big and small, high and low, mighty and vulnerable, rich and poor. Everyone at one point or the other must be a partaker of this event, which is death: “This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that, they go to the dead” (Eccl. 9:3).
Yes! As a necessary end, death is the common event for all. Our text tells us the different classes in which the rich man and Lazarus existed on earth but were both greeted with death, as the unifying event for all. The key point for us therefore, is not about how long or the class you placed yourself on earth but the impact you make with your life while you live; it is about the correctness of your life, as you pass through the sands of time into eternity.
Beloved, it is about living for God on earth, so that when the time is ripe and you are submitting to the one event, it will equally be in God, many times we take solace in Revelation 14:13: “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth….”but we fail to understand that it takes a living in the Lord, to die in the Lord. It is not possible that while on earth you consciously and purposefully refused to live for God, then you expect to die in the Lord. There is no magic about it, if you must not regret during this common event, then you must live for God while on earth.
- Consciously live your life for God always.
- At all times, apply caution to your daily activities.
- Allow Jesus to be the Lord of your life. Be born again.
- Lord, thank you for speaking to me; forgive my times of not living correctly for you and grant me the grace to live for you henceforth, so that I can die in you, in Jesus name. Amen.
Further Reading: Proverbs 10:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:1-12
ESOCS Devotional 3 November 2024
