Sometimes Jesus is so confusing. In fact, sometimes He makes God sound…well…unfair. A few of these really aggravating teacings come to mind. In Matthew Chapter 20, Jesus tells us this frustrating story. But it is only frustrating until we see what Jesus is trying to tell us.
A guy owns a vineyard, and hires some men to work for a day and earn a days wage. Later in the day he hires a few more men to work the remainder of the day. He pays them the exact same wage. If that isn’t frustrating, what about the last group he hires? With one hour to go in the work day, he hires a final group. He pays them a full days wage. What is He thinking. This isn’t fair!!
What a deal!!! Especially if you are the guys who only worked an hour and got paid a full days wage. How can this possibly be fair? Don’t look through man’s eyes. It will drive you nuts. Until you realize that this is the only possible way for God to “pay” His laborers, you might begin to resent other people.
Just what exactly is the “wage” that God pays us at the end of the day? He gives us Himself!
Is it possible to have a part of eternity? A little bit of God? It is impossible for God to give you a fraction of Himself. Even a teeny weeny piece of Him is still…HIM…Unlimited Life!
You can either resent that someone else got a hold of eternity, or rejoice that you did. The first seems like a waste of time.
Tomorrow I will show you another irritating teaching.
1 Comment
What a great way to look at that story. I am constantly amazed at how God speaks to me through others so He can get right to my inner (troubled) thinking and change it.
Thanks!!