September 22
16“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16, Life Application Study Bible)
Blessed greetings to you, my friends and family. I am getting into somewhat of a rhythm in Poland and my schedule has somewhat opened up. We had a nice Bible Study session on Wednesday night. The turnout was small, but was full of high ranking Officers, and little old me, SGT Z. The Chaplain had picked Matthew 20:1-16 for us to study and discuss.
Matthew 20:1-16 is the “Parable of the Vineyard Workers”. If you have not read that in a while, I would recommend that be your study today or tomorrow. In that parable, Jesus tells the disciples of a vineyard owner who goes out and hires workers “for a days wage” or a “denarius”. The vineyard owner hires workers at the beginning of the day, all the way until an hour before the days end. He pays each worker the same amount. When he pays those he hired first the same denarius he paid the workers who only toiled for an hour, these workers who had worked all day argue that they are due to more payment for working more. The landowner tells them that he paid them as much as they had agreed on, and why should they question him on his generosity and what he does with his money.
This parable is, of course, not about running a business and being generous with your funds. This is a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s Grace. The workers that are hired throughout the day represent those who come to know Christ early in their life, up to those who find Jesus in their final hour. Jesus tells his disciples this to remind them that we are not to complain about the fact that God offers His eternal grace at any point of a person’s life. Even to the murderer who finds God’s forgiveness on death row. This is God’s gift to give and who are we to question His graciousness.
I struggled with this for some time when I first found my way back to Christ. Here I was, trying my best to be kind to everyone, to be a nice person, and I kept seeing how insensitive, mean, and evil the people of this world were. I remember distinctly, in a moment of frustration, angrily calling out to God in prayer saying “they don’t deserve your grace”, and a voice inside my head shot right back and said “it doesn’t matter”. What did not matter was my opinion. What did matter was something that took much longer for me to realize: I didn’t deserve that grace either. Despite me feeling “holier than most” I still have a lot of work to do. I still sin. I still fall short, and Jesus still offers me that same forgiveness everyday.
We had a really great discussion about this on Wednesday night. Some of my favorite takeaways from the Majors, Lieutenant Colonels, and Chiefs in the room were the following. Jesus showed us a good example of how we need to harvest as the vineyard owner kept going into town, seeking those who were idle and bringing them to his field to work; this is Jesus’ command for us to find those workers. It doesn’t matter when anyone else finds Grace, because YOU have already received your reward. And no matter how long you have to work the field, be gracious for that opportunity. Because the first will be last, and the last will be first.
With my schedule smoothing out, I have been able to get back to listening to all the amazing music released last week. The Belonging Co. released a new worship album. It is fantastic. You can listen to it by clicking here. Of that massive set list, one of my favorites is the song below. Click, enjoy, be blessed and get out to find some “idle workers” to bring to the harvest. God bless y’all.
Common Sense Reborn 