Thursday

“They will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

Read Luke 16:31.

One night recently my older daughter came across a piece of paper with a list written on it. She asked her daddy to read it to her, which he dutifully did, line by line. When he got to the end, she was silent for a moment, then said, “I’m going to ask Mommy to read it to me. She’ll tell me what it really says.” In that moment, apparently Mommy-credibility won out over Daddy-credibility. But even when I told her that his reading was accurate, she was still dubious. She can’t read yet and so she couldn’t confirm with her own eyes that what we said was true.

In the same way, Abraham kept pushing back on the rich man in this story. He knew how blind and stubborn we humans are and reminded the man that his relatives had the teachings of scripture to tell them the truth, but if they wouldn’t heed that truth, they would not even believe it if someone came back from the dead. Raised-from-the-dead-person credibility might outweigh Moses-and-the-prophets credibility but until they saw the deep chasm between heaven and hell with their own two eyes they would not believe.

Are we waiting to see for ourselves? I hope not, but I know I doubt what I cannot see. I wonder sometimes what my mom would say to me if she could call me from heaven. How would she tell me to reprioritize my life based on the amazing reality she now knows? I cannot wait until I see with my own two eyes. I have to have faith. -AB

Jesus, you rose from the dead and yet we still do not always fully believe. Please forgive us for our unbelief. May we heed the words of the scripture and the truth you have placed in our hearts. Amen.