Choose Wisely

Choose Wisely

Luke 16:22-28 NIV - [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 hell, 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.' [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 fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' [27] "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, [28] for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

 

One of my favorite films is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  In it, Dr. Jones and his rival Donovan, both in competition to find the Holy Grail, discover a room full of hundreds of potential grails, one of which is the true cup of Christ.  The knight guarding the Grail tells them, "You must choose, but choose wisely.  For as the true grail will bring you life, the false grail will take it from you."  The greedy Donovan chooses the most luxurious, extravagant cup, and soon violently perishes from rapid aging.  Indiana, however, finds hidden behind fancy cups a humble, meager cup without decoration.  "This is the cup of a carpenter," he proclaims. This cup saves his father's life, but the knight instructs him that eternal life will only come if he stays within the temple.

 

There is an incredibly powerful analogy to be drawn from this film scene.  Christ gives each of us a choice.  We can partake of the extravagant cup and live our lives on this earth full of its comforts, or we can take the cup of the carpenter.  We can choose to spend our life in the temple: in God's presence.    Christ tells us that these are our only two choices.  Look in Luke 16.  Jesus tells the story of the rich man and the beggar who both die.  The rich man spent his life in luxury on earth but spends all of eternity in hell.  Repentant perhaps of his ways, he cries for Lazarus to warn his brothers of hell "so that they will not also come to this place of torment."  On the other hand, on earth "Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and [the rich man] is in agony." 

 

What choice will we make?  We can either be Lazarus or the rich man.  There are many who question whether there is perhaps another option, but our Lord leaves us with no such room to play dice.  The issue is that man is inherently fallen, not innocent.  He is in dire need of redemption, and unless he is willful to ask for it, Christ will not provide it.  Jesus is a gentleman; He will not force Himself upon us.  But if we choose to live outside of His reign, we must accept the consequence.  We must follow him whom we serve.  If that is Satan and his angels, then we will follow them to hell. 

 

But damnation is not the message of the gospel.  The gospel is a message of peace, of salvation, of joy!  Christ has made us aware of the reality of the unsaved man, but he has provided a way out for us!  Which cup will you drink from?  Choose the rugged road.  Choose the way that is difficult, but is so rewarding.  A relationship with Christ far outweighs any earthly pleasures we can have here on earth.