flying through the air with an
angel escort. J. R. Miller, Daily Bible Readings
in the Life of Christ, 1890. The beggar died and was carried
by the angels into Abraham's bosom. Luke 16, 22. Nothing is said about his funeral.
Of course, if he had one, it was only a porpoise funeral.
Earth had no honour for the beggar, no splendid coffin, no flowers,
but the angels came, and were his bearers and escort to glory. Notice also that nothing is said
about what became of his body. The body is of little matter,
for the man himself was no longer in that old, worn-out, battered
frame. He was soon far away in the realm
of eternal glory. When his body was dropped into
the ground, the beggar, the real man, was carried away to heaven. We see him there, no longer a
beggar, but enjoying eternal blessedness. There is still another
thought here. We dread death. It seems like
the end of existence. But really, to the Christian,
death is only a fleeting incident in his life. It is just a moment's
passage through an experience which we can never understand.
And then, eternal glory. One minute this poor beggar lies
at the rich man's gate, despised, suffering, and starving. The
next moment a strange sensation passes over him, and all is confusion. And then he awakes, flying through
the air with an angel escort, and in a moment he is inside
the celestial city, to dwell forever with the Lord. There
is no break in his life. death came also to the rich man. His riches could not save him
from death. No doubt he had a splendid funeral. There would be a long procession,
many mourners, a luxurious coffin, and every show of honour. But who would not rather have
the beggar's escort after death, than the finest funeral earth
ever gave to a mortal? There have been funerals of rich
men at which there was genuine sorrow, where those who had been
blessed by their benevolence came and wept by their coffins. But in this rich man's case there
were no sincere mourners, for the man had allowed the needy
to lie hungry at his gates. He had lived for himself only,
and no one really missed him when he was gone. The rich man
also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment,
he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus in his
bosom. Luke 16, 22, 23