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Luke 16:22-24
22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'
If you have never read this story of Lazarus and the rich man, I would encourage you to. It's in Luke 16:19-31
But reading this true story (This is not a parable) told by Jesus, it makes you think of how could a loving God send someone to a place like this. Or as the world puts it, "How can a loving God send someone to hell?"
The answer, God sends no one to hell, they all go there by their own free will.
One thing I noticed about this story is that the rich man, even though he was tormented in hell, refused to repent.
If you will notice he never humbled himself and never even attempted to repent of what he did. Instead he was still trying to order people around just like he did on the earth.
Didn't catch that part?
send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue
So even though he was being tormented, he still chose to be disobedient to the Lord and try to live like he did on the earth.
Some people never change no matter what, but rest assured this is not always the case and many do change their ways and turn to the Lord.
I did, how about you?
Think of Paul who hated Christians and even had them put to death, but still he changed and wrote one third of the New Testament.
The thing is that we don't know who will turn to the Lord and who wont.
So what do we do?
Just keep praying for him or her and allow the Lord to work in their lives. Pray that they will not be like this rich man who never repented, but rather that they would be like a Paul who turned from his evil ways and gave his life to the Lord.
Someone prayed for you and didn't give up, wont you do the same for someone you love or care about too!
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