No Regrets

He answered, "Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers.  Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment." -Luke 16:27-28 (NIV)

In today's suggested scripture reading, Jesus is addressing a group of Pharisees who are lovers of money and he tells them a parable about two men. One of them is wealthy as evidenced by the purple robes and the abundant tables of food. The other man is poor, covered with sores, and sits by the gate of the rich man longing for scraps of food from the rich man's table.

Both men die. The rich man is buried and descends to Hades, defined most simply as the place where God is not. The poor man, Lazarus, is carried away by angels and takes his place beside Abraham.

The rich man is somehow able to see Lazarus alongside Abraham while he himself is in endless torment. The rich man asks Abraham for relief but there is none coming. He is told that the chasm exists because he had good things on earth while Lazarus did not. Some suggest that the chasm exists because the rich man refused to share his riches with poor Lazarus who begged outside his gate.

I want to live a life of "no regrets." I want to live in such a way that I lessen the likelihood of approaching death having wished that I had done something I did not. I want to so live that I approach death regretting that there were lots of things that I should not have done.

May God grant you the grace to assess what is really important today and to be a good steward of your time, talents, and treasures. May you see this day as a gift and may you live with no regrets.



Tomorrow's Reading:  Luke 17
Sunday's Reading: Luke 18
I'll be back on Monday with a devotional from Luke 19

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