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?
