The readings for this past Sunday were from the One Year Lectionary for the First Sunday after Trinity (Sunday). The Old Testament was Genesis 15:1-6 where God, again, tells Abraham that he will have a son by Sarah who will be his heir. The Gospel lesson was Luke 16:19-31, which is about Lazarus and the rich man. The epistle lesson was 1 John 4:16-21 about love.
These lessons provide a comparison between three men and what “faith,” “belief,” and “trust” (hereafter referred to as FBT) mean. FBT has to do with coming to rest in honesty about our dependence on God—the opposite of works (see Mt. 11:28-30; Rom. 4; and Isa. 30:15).
The corruption of our human ego is so strong that it refuses to ever stop asserting itself. Note how the rich man never stopped thinking of himself or arguing for himself, even when he is in hell. And maybe that is the real “hell of it”—to forever be frustrated because self-assertion is never satisfied.
Now consider Abraham. He had his doubts about God’s promise and his own ideas about who would be his heir, and you can ever hear a little complaining in his conversation with God. But God’s promise remains and because there is nothing Abraham can do about having a son by Sarah, he comes to rest in God’s Word (notice that God adds a parabolic witness to His Word, the stars in the heavens).
Finally, we meet Lazarus who has no way to assert himself nor any means of feeding his corrupt human ego. The only thing for Lazarus is the God of Abraham and the promises of God that are eternally dependable. Thus, Lazarus is at rest in his soul and comes to rest in Abraham’s bosom in paradise.
FBT isn’t something we do that gets us what we want. FBT is being honest about how much we can’t do and coming to rest in what God does for us and brings to us. Rest well, you children of Abraham!