Lazarus, the Rich Man and the Help We Often Miss

There is a parable Jesus told about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus sat at the gate hoping for kindness from the rich man yet he was ignored day after day. In time both men died. The story says that Lazarus was safe beside Abraham while the rich man was in a place of distress. From there the rich man called out for help. He asked for water because the heat was unbearable. Abraham answered that a great chasm made it impossible to cross from one side to the other.

The rich man then asked for someone to be sent back to warn his brothers. Abraham replied with a message that reveals the heart of the parable.“They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.”

That short line carries a whole world of meaning.

It says that help is already there.It says that guidance is already available.It says that truth is already being spoken in ways we can understand.

For a long time I read this parable as a picture of the next life. Later I began to see that it is really a picture of this life. It is about the voices we ignore. It is about the wisdom that sits right in front of us while we wait for something more dramatic. It is about how guidance rarely comes in the form we expect yet it comes anyway.

When a chasm forms

One part of the story that speaks deeply to me is the mention of the chasm. It shows a separation that cannot be crossed. The rich man waited until everything fell apart before he recognised his need for wisdom. By then the gap was too wide. It reminds me that some consequences do not appear suddenly. They build slowly through choices that we overlook.

Sometimes our actions create a distance that becomes hard to close.Sometimes our refusal to listen creates a barrier between us and the outcome we hoped for.Sometimes doing nothing creates a chasm just as much as doing the wrong thing.

This is why listening matters. Acting early matters. Receiving good advice matters. There are moments in life when a gentle correction can save us from years of difficulty. There are warnings that come in small quiet ways long before the big consequences appear. The parable invites us to respond while it is still easy to change direction because regret often arrives when the gap is already too wide.

Nothing new under the sun

Scripture says that there is nothing new under the sun. What we hear today is what people before us heard. What they heard is what we hear today. The message has not changed. The difference has always been in the response. Some received the truth and some refused it. Some allowed it to shape their lives and some resisted it. The same pattern continues in our time. Someone has already walked the road you are walking today and someone will walk it again after you.

So the question becomes simple.Are you receptive to the help that is already there

We often think we need a new sign or a louder message or a clearer voice. Yet the truth we need has usually been spoken more than once. Someone in your life is already saying consider this. Think again. Slow down. Change direction. Take courage. Have faith. The help is not hidden. The help is present. The help is human and real.

You are not alone in your situation and you have never been. There is always someone whose words carry wisdom for the moment you are in. The parable reminds us that guidance only becomes powerful when we accept it. It becomes healing when we receive it. It becomes direction when we respond.

So I end with one gentle question.Are you listening to the voices that are already speaking life to you