"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." Luke 16:31 NIV
People often want a personal message from God but fail to realize that the Bible is the personal message from God. In this parable, a rich man is in hell or hades while a poor man named Lazarus is in heaven with Abraham. The rich man wants Lazarus to appear to his family and warn them about the place of torment. Abraham tells him clearly that if they didn't listen to Moses and the Prophets, then they wouldn't listen even to someone who came back from the dead. How true. Jesus rose from the dead and yet people don't want to hear his teachings or to put them into practice. What people often really want is not to hear what God has to say, but they want to find a way to have what they consider to be a perfect life. They want God to tell them how to achieve their own agendas. They may read the Bible but skip over the important difficult passages about forgiveness, loving your enemy, and taking up your cross. The Bible is complete. It tells us everything we need to know, but we need ears to hear, and a will to obey.
I pray that I will have ears to hear what God is telling me in his Word. I pray that I will be content with my physical circumstances knowing that what is important is my relationship with God. I thank God that He has given us such a deep, thorough love letter in his Bible.
