June 25, 2026 · Mark Bishop
Without Excuse
“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’””
Luke 16:25-31 →
## An Innocent Man
David and I were just recording one of our podcast episodes and the idea came up about criminals claiming to be innocent. I've mentioned the movie Shawshank Redemption before, but I think it ties in well here too. In the movie, a big joke among everyone is "We're all innocent." Morgan Freeman's character describes himself to a new inmate as, "The only [guilty one] in Shawshank." I laugh sometimes when I watch a sport and the players act dumb when they break a rule and are called on it. Sometimes the call needs a good argument or refute, but when it's obvious we should just realize we got caught going against the rules. The rich man here lived a life with time on his mind and never gave eternity much thought, as I mentioned in the last devotion. After going through a conversation with Abraham, he realizes he will remain and there's no second chance. He asks that there be someone to go warn his brothers so they don't end up in the same place as he, but Abraham says in paraphrase, "They were warned and are without excuse."
Jesus came to not only be the Word incarnate but to show that God's Word brings forth action like no other. Jesus had witnesses of all the miracles He had done, yet still people abandoned Himincluding His followers. If God, speaking through someone within time, can't get someone's attention then someone from eternity will have difficulty as well. Paul says the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing because they can only see within a time frame, not a life without time.
## Self-Check
God gave the spoken Word through the prophets, the written Word through various people, and finally the Word Himself came to demonstrate and fulfill what was lacking or what we couldn't do. Through all that, a person is without excuse to find God. God has given a way to find Him through one means. We have no excuse not to obey God or to ignore His calling. What are you doing with the revelation you have received?
## Stained Glass Grace