whose hope is the LORD.
LORD help is to trust you. Help us to hope in you. The idea sounds nice to us but once it becomes practical we quickly trust in human beings and seek our strength in flesh rather than in you. We are like the rich man who is only interested in the good things this life has to offer.
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
Lazarus is starving and covered with sores on our doorstep. How can we come and go through this door and yet ignore him. Why do we cross the street when we see the man attacked by robbers? Jesus, what is it in our hearts that turns inward and closes to the suffering of the world?
Our hope is in men, to some degree. It is in this world and not entirely in heaven. But if that is true we do not connect with the only true source of life. We experience dryness that the things of the world cannot sate. The happiness they provide can't cross the chasm to our hearts.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
We are moving toward a place we don't want to be. If we end up there we will say, "Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames." The life to which we refuse to turn is finally cut off from us completely.
But you don't want this for us. You want us to hope and trust in you, Jesus. You are the source of life. In you we taste it even now. Even now we are shielded from the heat of life apart from you.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes
This trust strengthens us against the circumstances of life. It makes us resilient against the shifting winds of the world. The living water of your Holy Spirit gives us life that the world cannot take from us.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
Let us turn to you for life, LORD. May our hope be in you and not in sumptuous meals and fine garments. You want us to trust you so that you can show us how to delight in your law. You want us to hope in you so that we aren't so trapped in ourselves that we miss Lazarus on our doorstep. So let us put our roots down deep into you, LORD. You are the source of the only life that endures.
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