CanTherebeUnity (continued)
Settle it in your mind that the main cause of all the suffering you see around you is sin. Sin is the great cause of the enormous luxury of the rich, and the painful degradation of the poor—of the heartless selfishness of the highest classes, and the helpless poverty of the lowest class. Sin must first be cast out of the world. The hearts of all men must be renewed and sanctified. The devil must be locked away. The Prince of Peace must come down and take His great power and reign. All this must be done before there can ever be universal happiness, or the gulf filled up that now divides the rich and the poor. Beware of expecting a millennium to be brought about by any method of government, by any system of education, or by any political party. Work hard to do good to all men. Pity the poor, and help in every reasonable endeavour to raise them from their life of poverty. Seek to help to increase knowledge, to promote morality, and to improve the earthly condition of the poor. But never, never forget that you live in a fallen world, that sin is all around you, and that the devil and the demons are everywhere. And be very sure that the rich man and Lazarus are emblems of two classes, which will always be in the world until the Lord returns. 2. Let us observe, in the next place, that "a person's worldly condition is no test of the state of their soul." The rich man in the parable appears to have been the world's pattern of a prosperous man. If the life that now is were all there is, then he seems to have everything that a heart could wish for. We know that he was "dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day." We needn't doubt that he had everything else which money could buy. The wisest of men had good reason for saying, "Money is the answer for everything. The rich have many friends." [Ecclesiastes 10:19; Proverbs 14:20] But who can read this story completely through without seeing that in the highest and best sense the rich man was pathetically poor? Take away the good things of his life, and he had nothing left— nothing after death————nothing beyond the grave—nothing in the world to come. With all of his riches he had no "treasure laid up in heaven." With all of his purple and fine linen he had no garment of righteousness. With all of his rich and successful friends he had no Friend and Advocate at God's right hand. With all of his sumptuous food he had never tasted the bread of life. With his entire magnificent palace he had no home in the eternal world. Without God, without Christ, without faith, without grace, without forgiveness, without holiness, he lives to himself for a few short years, and then goes down hopelessly into the pit of hell. How hollow and unreal was all his prosperity! Judge what I say— "The rich man was very poor." Lazarus appears to have been one who had literally nothing in the world. It is hard to conceive a case of greater misery and destitution than his. He had neither house, nor money, nor food, nor health, nor, in all probability, even clothes. His picture is one that can never be forgotten. "At the [rich man's] gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores." He longed, "to eat what fell from the rich man's table." Moreover, "the dogs came and licked his sores." Indeed the wise man might well say, "The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends. Poverty is the ruin of the poor." [Proverbs 14:20; [10:15] But anyone who reads the parable to the end cannot fail to see that in the highest sense Lazarus was not poor, but "rich!" Lazarus was a child of God. He was an heir of glory. He possessed enduring riches and righteousness. His name was in the Book of Life. His place was prepared for Him in heaven. He had the best of clothing—the righteousness of a Saviour. He had the best of friends—
God Himself was his advocate. He had the best of food—he had food to eat the world knew nothing of. And, best of all, he had these things forever. They supported him in life. They did not leave him in the hour of death. They went with him beyond the grave. They were with him in eternity. Surely in this point of view we may well say, not "poor Lazarus," but "rich Lazarus." We would do well to measure all men by God's standard— to measure them not by the amount of their income, but by the condition of their souls. When the Lord God looks down from heaven and sees the children of men, He ignores many things, which are esteemed by the world. He does not look at men's money, or lands, or titles. He looks only at the state of their souls, and judges them accordingly. Oh, that you would strive to do likewise! Oh, that you would value grace above titles, or intellect, or gold! Often, far too often, the only question asked about a man is, "How much is he worth?" It would be good for us all to remember that every man is tragically poor until he is rich in faith, and rich toward God. [James 2:5] As wonderful as it may seem to some, all the money in the world is worthless on God's scales, compared to grace! Hard as the saying may sound, I believe that a converted beggar is far more important and honourable in the sight of God than an unconverted king. The one may glitter like the butterfly in the sun for a little while, and be admired by an ignorant world; but his end is darkness and misery forever. The other may crawl through the world like a worm, and be despised by everyone who sees him; but his end is a glorious resurrection and a blessed eternity with Christ. Of him the Lord says, "I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!" [Revelation 2:9] King Ahab was ruler over the ten tribes of Israel. Obadiah was nothing more than a servant in his household. Yet who can doubt who was the most precious in God's sight, the servant or the king? Ridley and Latimer were deposed from all their dignities, cast into prison as criminals, and in time burned at the stake. Bonner and Gardiner, their persecutors, were raised to the highest point of ecclesiastical greatness, enjoyed large incomes, and died content and untroubled in their beds. Yet who can doubt which of the two parties was on the Lord's side? Baxter, the famous clergyman, was persecuted with savage hostility, and condemned to a long imprisonment by a most unjust judgment. Jeffreys, the Chief Justice who sentenced him, was a man of shameful character without either morality or religion. Baxter was sent to jail and Jeffreys was loaded with honours. Yet who can doubt which was the good man of the two, the Chief Justice Jeffreys or the author of the Christ honouring book, "Saint's Everlasting Rest"? We can be very sure that riches and worldly greatness are no sure marks of God's favor. They are often, on the contrary, a snare and hindrance to a man's soul. They make him love the world and forget God. What does Solomon say? "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint." [Proverbs 23:4] What does Paul say? "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." [1 Timothy 6:9] We can be sure that poverty and trial are not sure proofs of God's anger. They are often blessings in disguise. They are always sent in love and wisdom. They often serve to wean man from the world. They teach him to set his affections on things above. They often show the sinner his own heart. They often make the saint fruitful in good works. What does the book of Job say? "Blessed is the man whom God