The Gospel of Luke 16:19-21 When God Says...I Say, AMEN!

When God Says …

“There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.” (Luke 16:19-21 KJV).

These passages open the Lord’s story of two contrasting worlds with a repulsive scene that is starting to unfold. It is revolting to imagine of a man dressed in royal fashion with purple and fine linen, while another man, a poor sick man, is left to beg for scraps outside this rich man's gate. Dogs come to lick His body full of sores. This rich man, in lavish luxurious living, is a picture of a person operating under the covenant of the law. Despite the obvious of having at his gate a specimen for performing the demands of the law with all the available resource he has, the rich man failed to manifest doing good. He is so enslaved by greed and vanity. He is powerless to fulfill the law even by the least he could have by handing out his crumbs.

This is a picture of riches possessing a man to be its servant instead of a man possessing it for stewardship to bless others. It is one reason why grace is of the essence. Under the law luxury and riches can become a god for those that possess it. They can be blinded by it from seeing and helping the needy around them, even as close as at their gate.

Apart from grace by faith in Christ Jesus, the more a person tries to do by religious self effort of his duty to do good, the stronger the grip of sin to resist doing it. This is what Apostle Paul testified, as it is written: “Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:16-19 ESV).

And I say, AMEN!

Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries

When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.

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