³¹ “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:31 CSB)

Today’s scripture is somewhat unique. We have the story of a rich man who dies and goes to hell and a poor man, with many problems, who also dies and goes to heaven. The rich man looks across the great divide between heaven and hell and ask Abraham to send the poor man to his family to warn them of his fate. But Abraham says he can’t but even if he could they would not be persuaded.

You see, and I think this has become more and more true in the world, even if the dead rise most would not change their ways. The world often looks upon the religious as fools. They see us as gullible, using religion as a crutch. They think we believe fairy tails and do not have a good grasp upon reality. But the opposite in almost every case is true because these people will not be persuaded. They have been inoculated by the world and given in to the enemy. They are, in a much used religious word, lost.

The shock of true reality will come when Christ returns and all the dead rise and believers are taken away as well. Then, standing alone with their reality, and possibly only then will they be persuaded that religion is not the fantasy and crutch they believed it to be. But will it be too late then?

I have known many persuasive people. But I have known far more people who could not be persuaded and in our current society this is more the norm. But we must not stop trying. We must not stop living a life that points to the cross. If only one is persuaded by this heaven rejoices.