On reading Luke and the weekly obituaries: The rich men who did and didn't invent the Nobel Prize
Our weekly newspaper always has at least one obituary. As I read them I learn about family relations, upbringing, jobs, and things the deceased found important. I also wonder what it would be like to read my own obituary.
Alfred Nobel got to read his own obituary not long after his brother died. His local newspaper mistook his brother for Alfred, the man who made a fortune off of inventing dynamite. While obituaries are rarely punchy, someone wrote in Alfred’s obituary that he alone made it possible to kill more people more quickly than anyone else in human history. Alfred was horrified by this and wondered what he could do to alter his legacy. Hence, the Nobel prizes for those who benefit mankind in politics, science, and art.
Treasures on Earth Expire
Unlike Nobel, most people don’t get a chance to think about how they spent their lives until it’s too late to change anything. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus introduces us to an unnamed rich man and his poor neighbor Lazarus. The rich man lived in luxury, oblivious to his neighbor Lazarus, who struggled to eat and maintain good health. When both men died the rich man woke up in torment in Hades, while Lazarus was in a sort of paradise with Father Abraham.
Death is a great equalizer in that worldly riches, status, and luxury have no bearing on the afterlife. All the rich man wanted in the afterlife was the tiniest bit of comfort and someone to warn his friends and family that there really is life after death and they’re all doing life wrong. But Abraham denied him, saying that even if someone came back from the dead to warn these oblivious people, it wouldn’t matter because they already have the Bible and fail to take it seriously.
It’s remarkable what we take seriously and what we don’t. We live and die by our sports teams. We let our blood pressure increase over partisan politics. We sacrifice our health to earn our wealth and then reverse the process when we get older. We fool ourselves that God can be found in our hobbies at the lake or right at home, always thinking that there’s time to put things in order before it’s too late. Before it’s our obituary running in the paper.
But, just like the rich man in Jesus’ story, we don’t know what the future holds. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading obituaries it’s that people of all ages die in all sorts of ways. All we can do is be ready, and Jesus teaches us that investing in worldly riches is the wrong way to be prepared. Instead, he tells us to store up treasures in heaven, because where our treasure is our heart will be also.
Treasures in Heaven Don't
How do you store up treasure in heaven? The first step is you have to take seriously the Holy Scriptures and what they say about creation, sin, redemption, and new creation. God made you, and although sin and death separate you and him—because we all sin, he has defeated sin and death by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to take on our nature and pay the penalty of our sins by tasting the curse of death for us all. Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, he promises that Jesus will return to earth one day and everyone will be raised from the dead, some to new life in God’s kingdom and some to go to the place prepared for the Devil and his angels. In Jesus’ story Lazarus was in one, while the rich man was in the other.
Where will you go after you die? Alfred Nobel may have changed his earthly legacy after reading his obituary, but such efforts wouldn’t change what happened after he actually died. The only thing that matters for him, you, me, and everyone else is being seized by God’s love in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures say confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved. For whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The next step is growing up in Christ, and he has given us his bride and body, the church, to nurture us along the way.
If you’ve never taken these steps, don’t delay. Next week’s obituaries haven’t been written yet.
Alfred Nobel got to read his own obituary not long after his brother died. His local newspaper mistook his brother for Alfred, the man who made a fortune off of inventing dynamite. While obituaries are rarely punchy, someone wrote in Alfred’s obituary that he alone made it possible to kill more people more quickly than anyone else in human history. Alfred was horrified by this and wondered what he could do to alter his legacy. Hence, the Nobel prizes for those who benefit mankind in politics, science, and art.
Treasures on Earth Expire
Unlike Nobel, most people don’t get a chance to think about how they spent their lives until it’s too late to change anything. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus introduces us to an unnamed rich man and his poor neighbor Lazarus. The rich man lived in luxury, oblivious to his neighbor Lazarus, who struggled to eat and maintain good health. When both men died the rich man woke up in torment in Hades, while Lazarus was in a sort of paradise with Father Abraham.
Death is a great equalizer in that worldly riches, status, and luxury have no bearing on the afterlife. All the rich man wanted in the afterlife was the tiniest bit of comfort and someone to warn his friends and family that there really is life after death and they’re all doing life wrong. But Abraham denied him, saying that even if someone came back from the dead to warn these oblivious people, it wouldn’t matter because they already have the Bible and fail to take it seriously.
It’s remarkable what we take seriously and what we don’t. We live and die by our sports teams. We let our blood pressure increase over partisan politics. We sacrifice our health to earn our wealth and then reverse the process when we get older. We fool ourselves that God can be found in our hobbies at the lake or right at home, always thinking that there’s time to put things in order before it’s too late. Before it’s our obituary running in the paper.
But, just like the rich man in Jesus’ story, we don’t know what the future holds. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading obituaries it’s that people of all ages die in all sorts of ways. All we can do is be ready, and Jesus teaches us that investing in worldly riches is the wrong way to be prepared. Instead, he tells us to store up treasures in heaven, because where our treasure is our heart will be also.
Treasures in Heaven Don't
How do you store up treasure in heaven? The first step is you have to take seriously the Holy Scriptures and what they say about creation, sin, redemption, and new creation. God made you, and although sin and death separate you and him—because we all sin, he has defeated sin and death by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to take on our nature and pay the penalty of our sins by tasting the curse of death for us all. Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, he promises that Jesus will return to earth one day and everyone will be raised from the dead, some to new life in God’s kingdom and some to go to the place prepared for the Devil and his angels. In Jesus’ story Lazarus was in one, while the rich man was in the other.
Where will you go after you die? Alfred Nobel may have changed his earthly legacy after reading his obituary, but such efforts wouldn’t change what happened after he actually died. The only thing that matters for him, you, me, and everyone else is being seized by God’s love in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures say confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved. For whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. The next step is growing up in Christ, and he has given us his bride and body, the church, to nurture us along the way.
If you’ve never taken these steps, don’t delay. Next week’s obituaries haven’t been written yet.
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