March 25, 2013
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 20:1-16
OBSERVATIONS
If God gave us what we deserved, we would be in trouble.
Thankfully, God gives us what we do not deserve – it’s called grace.
Yet this story makes it sound unfair. How can someone who worked all day get the same amount as someone who only worked the last few hours. What is more, it sounds like they make excuses for not working most of the day, that they’re being lazy.
Technically, the employer is correct, he has the right to do what he wants with his own money. But he may have problems the next day finding people to work the whole day. He may get a reputation for his crazy generosity, and people won’t show up until the late afternoon.
Jesus is not suggesting business principles here. He is showing how the kingdom of God works by grace, not by merit.
Paul says: “When a man works, his pay is not considered a gift. It is owed to him. But things are different with God. He makes evil people right with himself. If people trust in him, their faith is accepted even though they do not work. Their faith makes them right with God.” (Romans 4:4-5)
The key to understanding this is that we do not earn God’s favour, we receive it as a free gift.
We operate on worthiness and merit: the first in this world get there because they earn it, work for it, deserve it, while the weak end up last, at the bottom (it’s called survival of the fittest). This is NOT how God works.
This shows us God’s amazing generosity. And yes, people do take advantage of God’s grace, but He’s willing to risk it, to save as many who will receive it.
What do you notice in this passage?
APPLICATION
Do I think I deserve more reward because I am working full-time, while others only volunteer part-time? Am I closer to God, or will I benefit more on judgment day, because I am a minister?
If my kids turn out OK, if my marriage survives, if I handle my money better, if I live a more moral life than others, will I be considered more worthy than God?
No, no, no. Two reasons come to mind.
First, God does not reward us according to our merit, and thankfully so because if He did we would be in trouble.
Second, what we consider good may not be so good after all. Remember the Pharisees, they thought they were pretty good, moral, deserving, but God sees deep into their hearts and knows what really lives there.
We may think that we worked better than others, but is that truly the case?
Better to work hard – not because it earns us better rewards – but because it is a joy to work for such a generous Master.
We do what we do not to earn God’s grace, but to thank Him for His grace.
All that we have, all that we receive, all that we hope for, all will be a gift of grace, a blessing from our generous God.
Today I will not grumble because of God’s generosity; today I will give thanks and celebrate His amazing, undeserved grace!
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
God, I do not deserve it, but You love, forgive and accept me anyway. I offer all that I do, not just as a minister but as a human being, in gratitude to you. Your love is amazing!!!
Jesus follower
trying to find His way
It’s not fair! We spend a lot of our time in comparisons. How are we doing in relation to those around us. Our whole sense of wellbeing is based on this. If we are each allowed to have a cookie, and a select few are allowed to have two cookies, then the harmony amongst the receivers is lost. So is this the lesson of today’s story? Is heaven a place where people are angry because the gift that people receive is more for some than for others?
I think that the story here is more that the gift seems to be equal, and is not dependant on the receiver. The amount of work done is not directly related to the funds earned. This can be a source of joy for some, and a source of bitterness for others. Perhaps more needs to be spent on the journey, rather than the destination. The result, a day’s pay, is what each person received, regardless of the time spent at the vineyard. But they all were at the vineyard, participating in vineyard events.
I pray that I will be a participant of the work in God’s vineyard. Help me not to focus on the days pay. As the people hired later in the day were not even told what they would be paid, but were assured it would be fair, so we are not told about what life after death looks like. We need to focus on life today.
Help me to work hard (does that sound like a good Calvinist?) and to be a blessing to others.
Observations/Application:
At the different times of the day the Landlord hired people to work in His vineyard. When the workers received their payment, all received the same pay to the amazement of those hired early in the morning. They were envious. All of God’s people are working in His vineyard, but we all did not arrive at the same time. Remember the thief on the cross? However, for all of the workers in His Kingdom the wages are the same – not death – but eternal life. The Lord has the right to do what He desires because He is Lord of lords and the King of kings. God is a generous Landlord as we see giving those who came last the same as the first.
What a mighty LandLord I serve. Thank You Lord for the opportunity to work in Your Kingdom.
Prayer:
Help me to be a faithful worker each day working in Your Kingdom Lord. Thank You for Your Provisions each day and as I transition from this place, lead me and guide me where I need to go to take new challenges as a worker in Your kingdom from which no one can retire.
O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!
So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.