Luke 16:14-31
To the miserly Pharisees the Lord Jesus declares that God knows their hearts and judges differently from men. Over the greatest achievements, successes and earthly ambitions, the awful judgment of v. 15 is written, an "abomination in the sight of God". And what reversals of present situations will appear in the next world! The Lord gives us a striking example of this. The rich man was really an unfaithful steward. While his neighbour lay at his gate, he used for himself in self-indulgent luxury what God had given him to use on earth. Yet the same happens to the rich man as to the poor – both die; sooner or later death comes to all. And this parable, told by One who cannot lie, proves that our history is not finished at death. There is still a final chapter, of which the Lord, as He turns the page, allows us to read a few lines. What do we discover of that afterlife, about which so many think and fear? There is a place of happiness and a place of torment. In that day it will be impossible to pass from the one to the other, too late to believe, too late to preach the gospel. "Behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).