Sight Unseen

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Today's reading titled Sight Unseen was written by Tim Gustafson. After Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, he parachuted into the Russian countryside. A farm woman spotted the orange-clad cosmonaut still wearing his helmet and dragging two parachutes. Can it be that you have come from outer space? She asked in surprise.

As a matter of fact, I have, he said. Soviet leaders sadly turned the historic flight into anti-religious propaganda. Gagarin went into space, but he didn't see any God there, their premier declared. Gagarin himself never said such a thing.

As C.S. Lewis observed, those who do not find God on Earth are unlikely to find him in space. Jesus warned us about ignoring God in this life. In Luke 16, he told a story of two men who died, a rich man who had no time for God, and Lazarus, a destitute man rich in faith. In torment, the rich man pleaded with Abraham for his brothers still on Earth. Send Lazarus, he begged Abraham. If someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. But Abraham got to the heart of the problem. If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. Seeing is never believing, wrote Oswald Chambers.

We interpret what we see in the light of what we believe. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Luke chapter 16 verses 19 through 31. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and sent Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things while Lazarus received bad things.

But now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been set in place so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. He answered, Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them so that they will not also come to this place of torment. Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets.

Let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. He said to him, if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. Let's pray. Father, thank you for Jesus and the life we can have with him. Thank you for forgiving us of our sins and restoring our relationship with you. We pray today for those who don't know you yet and ask you to draw them to yourself. May they see you in us and believe. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.