Jesus is advising us, in today’s Gospel, put him at the center of our lives. The rich man in the parable put himself first. God was distant, unimportant to him. Perhaps we can see a little of ourselves in the rich man. Perhaps we put material things ahead of our duties towards God and our neighbor, thus neglecting the virtue of charity.
The poor man, Lazarus, was in need of a great deal. He suffered much. It would seem that God had forgotten him; whereas with the rich man, it would seem that God heaped blessing upon blessing on him. However, the poor man had one thing: his salvation. He hoped in God alone. What else could he depend on? This is not to suggest that we give up the necessities of life, but it goes to show us that in the end, only one thing matters: putting God at the center of our lives.
Today’s Gospel reminds us that in order to gain the Kingdom of God, we need to turn to Jesus in complete dependence. It should be our one desire to be with Jesus and also want to bring to him as many other souls as possible. Let us make the effort to work hard to do all the good possible and to share Jesus’ love with all those whom we meet on the road of life. Let us be Jesus’ untiring apostle.
