November 2, 2011 – Luke 16

There is a lot in this chapter. I love the story of Lazarus. I wonder why Lazarus is named but not the rich man. It may be something similar to the prodigal story we just read. We are to put ourselves into the story as the rich man and it is easier to do when there is no name. I think it does cause some confusion with the Lazarus of Bethany that Christ raises from the dead. They don’t appear to be the same people because Lazarus isn’t dead yet.

I don’t understand how any Christian denomination or Bible believer can accept that divorce is correct. Christ puts it plainly that divorce is not right. If you get divorced and marry another, it is adultery. There really isn’t any wiggle room. Divorce is such a damaging act to the family and to our country as a whole that its acceptance has led to the destruction of our moral fiber and the strength of our world. Yet it doesn’t seem that people really make that connection. People would still rather point to religion as a restriction to their life and freedom than to the moral decay of our nation because we have taken away the Christian foundation of morals that have been established. I don’t know where people think we are going to end up if we destroy the idea of marriage, love, holiness, life and other moral questions. Taking God out of our lives will only lead to destruction, there is no other destination that this can lead us to. The further we remove God, the farther we move into a land of darkness. Marriage and divorce are just two things that have been trampled by the understanding that we don’t need God and morals to rule our lives and we can find our own way. Religion is not there for our restriction but for our help.