Listen to God’s Word to know your status!

“That’s not fair!” It might be that he got more pumpkin spice cookies, or she got more pumpkin spice cupcakes. From an early age we are experts at spotting when someone has more than we do. Even if we were content and comfortable with the amount of pumpkin spice goodies in our lives, or whatever other thing we value, when we see someone else with more, whatever we have is not enough.

We do not grow out of thinking “That’s not fair!” We all have a keen eye for spotting circumstances that we deem less than perfect. We all have our standards for comfort, and when those are not met, it is noticeable. We may be able to hide it from strangers or classmates and coworkers who do not know us all that well, but our good friends and family can spot when even on the inside we are not pleased with the way our life is going.

Beyond any human relationship, God knows when we are uncomfortable. We have no secrets from God, so we cannot hide our thoughts regarding our circumstances from him. Often, when our circumstances take us out of our comfort zone, God is the one we ask to fix it. In response to the two extremes of comfort, comfortable and uncomfortable, Jesus told a parable in our Gospel reading from Luke 16. Jesus said,

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

Two thousand years later, we have no trouble picturing the major differences in the lives of these two men. The rich, successful, healthy unnamed man lived a life of comfort. He also seems to be the kind of person that would not part with a penny even for someone sick and begging on the street outside the monogrammed entrance to his estate. Then, we look down at Lazarus, the poor, sick beggar whose only comfort likely came when he dreamed and, in his mind, could be seated at a table healed eating a full meal with the dogs outside. These men’s circumstances could not be more different, but then they died. And Jesus continued his parable,

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’”

As different as these men were in life, so they were in death. The rich man did not believe in God, nor had he seen a need for him as he was comfortable in his worldly circumstances. Lazarus was different. His temptation was to believe that God hated him, did not exist or ignored his prayers as he was a poor sick beggar. Instead, Jesus used the poor beggar Lazarus as the example of one who believes in God despite discomfort and enters eternal life in paradise.

The phrase “That’s not fair,” comes to mind when listening to Jesus’ parable of the ‘Rich Man and Lazarus.’ Jesus creates tension with this parable to expose our sinful tendency to make conclusions about our status with God based on our circumstances. The rich man might have felt all was good between him and God since so much had been entrusted to him to manage, while Lazarus would have been tempted to follow the selfish sinful advice of the wife of Job, who endured great suffering, who said in Job 2,

9 … “Curse God and die!”

But Jesus stops us when we see Lazarus go to heaven and the rich man to eternal punishment. In Hell, the rich man begs for relief and a small glimpse of the comfort he once took for granted, but Jesus continued his parable saying,

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’”

There is not a second chance or source of relief when a person dies without faith in Jesus. The rich man was now sure how life after death worked, but his uncomfortable circumstances were set, and no amount of begging would change where he was.

Our circumstances threaten our faith in Jesus. In his parable, Jesus highlighted the power of comfort. Comfort from wealth can pull us away from God as happened in our Old Testament reading from Amos 6. The prophet Amos prophesied to the rich in the northern kingdom of Israel who were lulled out of faith as they sat in comfort, but their judgment was fast approaching as we read,

1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!

These rich and powerful who had people flock to them to ride their coattails would be destroyed in a few decades by Assyria. Complacency robbed the rich of their need to repent; though outwardly blessed, they still needed forgiveness and salvation.

Our complacency also threatens our faith. We grow complacent when we base our standing with God on our circumstances. We may be in a season of wealth and health, so we grow complacent in giving thanks to God alone for blessings. Or we may be in a season of loss and sickness, so we grow complacent cutting off communication with God in prayer and worse time with him in Scripture. Jesus warns us against complacency. Comfort is not a direct indicator of our standing with God. Only Scripture reveals our true, sealed and unchanging status with God. Yet, we often feel, think, say and live with a view toward God of “That’s not fair!” Our comfort level changes by the minute based on major life events like cancer, divorce and death, but also based on minor events like a delayed delivery date for an online order of pumpkin decorations or someone cutting us off in traffic. Our emotions and feelings change based on our circumstances, and they cannot define our standing with God. If our status with God were based on our circumstances, we would never have security, confidence or assurance.

Jesus points us to his Word for assurance of our status. When the condemned uncomfortable formerly rich man cried out to Abraham for relief and was denied, Jesus continued his parable saying,

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

The reality of hell brought the man to care for his family, but he still did not get it. Circumstances, signs, wonders, even a resurrection do not evoke such a surprise stirring of emotion or logical deduction that a person turns from their former way of life to faith in God. No, repentance and faith come from God who calls out our sins and inability to take away our guilt in Scripture. Jesus’ reference to ‘Moses and the Prophets’ are what we would call the Old Testament and was the Bible of his day. They testify to the innocent sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our sins to save us. We have full confidence in our forgiveness and eternal life in heaven because Jesus did rise from the dead.

Assurance of our status with God comes from hearing what Jesus did for us even from the Old Testament. God calls us to repent so that he can assure us of the forgiveness and life our resurrected Redeemer brought as we hear in Job 19,

25 I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

And we hear that Jesus would suffer a terrible blow, but still be able to crush the devil in overwhelming defeat in Genesis 3,

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

Even details of Jesus’ death on the cross along with his resurrection and the justification he would bring us, the declaration that our status is not guilty, is recorded in the Old Testament in Isaiah 53,

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

And again, in Psalm 22, we listen to these words written hundreds of years before Jesus’ spoke from the cross with pierced hands and feet,

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 16 Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. 17 All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

Jesus was abandoned by God to die for our sins, and we are the people born two thousand years later who heard the proclamation that God’s unchanging righteousness is ours. Our comfort is certain, safe and hidden in Jesus because he has done it; it is finished, he has saved us.

Listening to the Word of God prompts us to say, “That’s not fair!” The answer to sin, sinful desires, the love of money or lack of comfort comes from God. The medicine for our lives begins with our hearts which are made whole again by the Word of God. God’s power, love and forgiveness heal us, not our accumulated wealth, strong will, ministry plans, Christian morals or any other work, decisions or plans we make. In our New Testament reading from the last chapter of Hebrews, Hebrew 13, we see the good news of Scripture applied to our whole Christian life,

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

The writer to the Hebrews quotes from the Old Testament to assure us that we are not alone, but God helps, protects and saves us. These words also empower us to live as heavenly citizens on earth. We are not complacent, but intentional with our daily time in God’s Word. Our comfort remains and grows when we take comfort in Christ, not our circumstances.

“That’s not fair!” It might be that he got more pumpkin spice cookies, or she got more pumpkin spice cupcakes. We think a lot about fairness getting focused on what we see, what we have, what we want or what we do not have, but those things do not save us or tell us how much God loves us. God’s Word tells us all about Jesus’ love, forgiveness and salvation for us through his life, sacrifice on the cross, resurrection from the empty tomb and rule for our good from heaven. When we feel like life is not fair, it is not, but not because of what we do or do not have. Life is not fair because of all Jesus has done for us, so listen to God’s Word to know your status. Amen.