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A hidden blessing?

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Do you remember the parable of the rich man and Lazarus?

Luke 16:19-26

“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’

I was washing my hands today in very hot water after cleaning the bathroom.  The water was so hot that I had to take my hands out for a moment and then put them back in to rinse.  I noticed that once my hands had adjusted to being out of the hot water for that moment, it was even more painful to put them back in the water for my final rinse.

This is such an obvious point that we often forget about it.  Once we are adjusted to an extreme, whether it be temperature or a life situation, things become easier, they become more bearable and  more tolerable and then eventually become our normal as we settle in and forgot about our previous normal.

Could this great chasm really be a hidden blessing for those who choose Hades, because in His infinite wisdom He knows their endless suffering would increase exponentially with even one drop of cool water or one grace given from above?

Breaking point

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Genesis 9:7
And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound on the earth and multiply in it.

This line of the Bible is often quoted, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, spread out over the earth, procreate, reproduce, but from so many other sources we hear the downside of filling the earth.

As the population on earth continues to increase we will reach breaking points such as food shortages and fresh drinking water shortages.  These shortages already exist in many places, but the current shortages are not due to a lack of resources, but rather an unequal dispersion of these resources throughout the earth.  As the population continues to increase these shortages will eventually become a reality for everyone.

Why would God ask us to fill the earth? Why would He knowingly push us to such an extreme breaking point?

In science and research, the extremes are where things get interesting.  The extremes are where things change and discoveries are made.

Is God looking for things to get interesting?  Is He looking for change?

Imagine for a moment that we have reached the point where shortages and rationing have become a reality for everyone one earth.  On this day both the rich and the poor of the old world will stand in the same line for food and water.  Will they be able to shed their old images and labels of rich and poor and see their news ones as students and teachers?

The poor of the old world will know how to survive on very little food and water.

  1. Will the poor of the old world be willing to teach?
  2. Will the rich of the old world be willing to learn?

Isn’t populating and filling the earth pushing us towards a forced equality?  Imagine how overjoyed God would be if we reached a desire for equality and true action to provide the basic needs for all of our brothers and sisters before our hands were forced, before we reached the breaking point.

God please inspire generosity within me and the motivation to act on it.

Luke 3:10-11
And the crowds asked [John the Baptist], “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”