Luke 16

Wow. My apologies that it's been so long since my last post. In fact the last few have been pretty spotty here over the past few weeks. I believe this is important so I really want to commit myself to getting back into a daily routine. I'd also like to comment more on Luke 15, but rather than stop there, I'll move on and comment back to Luke 15 as we do.

Luke 16...
Jesus starts off with a strange sounding parable, huh? "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly." A little shocking, don't you think? Well, I'm not sure that "being dishonest" is the point of the parable. Look at what Jesus says next: "Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." Maybe the point is simply, don't hold on too tightly to worldly wealth, but use it to advance the Kingdom.
The next major parable is also a bit of a shocker. Lazarus was laid at his gate. Also worth pointing out is that the beggar is named (Lazarus) while the rich man is not. Someone once referred to this story in an article entitled, "Tripping over Lazarus." While service trips and projects to other places in the world have great value and lend a broader perspective on life, the author wondered if, on our mission to help those far away, we are "tripping over Lazarus" at our own gate. He raises an interesting point. I wonder how many people are in severe chaos within a 1 mile radius of where I live. I suspect that if I opened my eyes, the number would be stunning. Again, this is not to discount the value of service/mission trips (I would still love to hear about Shiloh's trip to Africa), but it is a striking call to keep our eyes close to home.
Also, the revelation by Jesus (v.31) that more compelling than a ghost coming back from the dead are the words of the Tanakh (Moses [the Torah] and the Prophets [the rest of the OT combined]). Wow! The power of the Text, no?