Issue the warning

“‘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

As I was finishing up my run early yesterday morning by doing laps around the cemetery behind the office where I work, I was enjoying the peace and serenity of the tree-lined graveyard. The sun was shining bright, the birds were singing loudly and I was lost in thought as I contemplated the goodness of God and the many things I had to be thankful for this Christmas. That calmness and tranquility was soon interrupted though when I heard the loud whistle of the train coming through on the tracks less than a quarter mile from me, a sound the conductor issued to warn traffic and pedestrians to stay off the tracks to avoid being hit. The blast was so loud in fact that it made me jump. “Yikes,” I thought to myself. “That really scared me.” And just when my heart rate went down, the conductor sounded the horn again. “If I didn’t know a train was coming then I sure do now,” I laughed.

And you know, when it comes to issuing a warning, Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus so that you and I would understand just how horrendous, dreadful and nasty hell is; something that is rarely talked about in most churches these days despite the fact that hell is a place so devoid of hope that the rich man, who went to hell because he had not accepted Jesus as his Savior, begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his family saying, "Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment." And since the definition of “this place of torment" is a place of unending and unrelenting mental and physical suffering so severe that is beyond comprehension, you and I would do well to warn all those who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior that the same fate that the rich man met awaits them as well. 

So this Christmas, give the best gift that you could ever give. Give the gift of your time and testimony to someone who has not made the decision to follow Jesus. Simply tell them about the good things God has done in your life and invite them to experience this goodness for themselves... goodness that was made possible by His birth more than 2,000 years ago. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that hell is a real place, it's a forever place, and it's a place that we don’t want even one person to go to. Give us a heart to deliver this message this Christmas and throughout the year so that the lost aren't met with the same fate as the rich man—a man who chose the temporary comforts of the world over the eternal comfort of heaven. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!