In my parables of Christ class, we read in Matthew 20, about the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. At the start of the story, Christ tells us of a man who hires a couple of workers to labor with him in his vineyard. He tells this first group that their labor will be worth a penny. So they accept the terms and get at it. 3 hours later, the man goes into the streets and does another round of hiring, this time telling them they will receive "whatsoever is right, I will give unto you...Again he went out about the sixth hour, and the ninth hour, and did likewise." (Matthew 20: 4,5)
Finally, the 11th hour comes around and he notices there are people in the streets, still looking for a way to make a living for the day. He tells them, "Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive." (7) By the end of the shift, the man calls all his laborers to receive their pay, starting from the last group all the way to the first. To the horror of the first group, and the utter amazement of the last group, each individual in each group receives the same reward.
The first group complains that they had been working all day, that they'd had the burden of the job, and because of their diligence and their longer hours, they deserve to be paid more than those who came at the 11th hour and so on. The man replies, "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful to for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?"
As we read this part of the story, I was reminded of the parable of the prodigal son. In that story, a man has two sons, one who is faithful, diligent, and willing to do all that his father asks throughout his life. The other son selfishly takes his inheritance, wastes it, and eventually, through his poor choices, ends up hitting rock bottom. Ashamed, he stays away from home for a long while, until he finally decides he will become his father's servant to make a living. Much to his astonishment, his father eagerly welcomes him back despite the mistakes he's made.
Not everyone his as happy to forgive and receive him back though. The son that stayed with the family and worked hard all these years hears of his brother's return, and sees the celebration and the good fortune he is receiving and this son now becomes angry at their father. The father confronts him and asks him why he is upset and doesn't want to join the celebrations. The son bitterly replies that he has been working all his life to do what his father asked of him. Where was his big feast? Where were the new clothes for him? Why was his brother getting all these amazing things when he'd been wasting his living away?
The father then tells his son something to the effect of, "Hey, chill out. He's had it really hard. He knows what it's like to go without all of these things. You, on the other hand, have been amazingly faithful. You've worked so hard with me. But all of these things are already yours. There's not a need to celebrate your return because you were never lost. You've had all these blessings all along."
I learned today that it is so important to be happy for the success of others. To remember that everyone has had an individual journey with Christ- some come to him later, while others have been loyal their whole lives. But that doesn't mean either party is worth any more or any less. We all receive the same love, the same encouragement, and are promised to inherit eternal life if we promise to follow Christ and become laborers in his vineyard. Sometimes it is easy to compare our lives and our blessings with others, thinking, why is that person doing so much better than me? or why do I deserve these blessings when this person had struggled and worked for so long?
Just remember that Christ has paid the price. Therefore, he is the one that sets the reward. And oh how beautiful it is. I am grateful for his patience and willingness to teach me how to become more like him. I love you and I hope you have a great day!
Love,
Emily
Oh, this was super duper important for me to read today. I don't normally feel angry at the people for having the blessings, but I DO begin to question what I'm doing if I'm not seeing the blessings as fast as other people seem to be receiving them. For example, you know some of the struggles I've been dealing with in certain areas of my life (I think you'll know what I'm talking about), and sometimes I'm like, "When will this end? When will I finally receive wholeness and healthiness?" Thoughts like that. And then when I see other people who may not seem to be working so hard to fight for the truth and stuff and it seems like they have that, I start to question if I'm doing enough. If maybe I'm doing something wrong to prevent me from receiving that too. But I feel like a lot of times it isn't because of that, but because God knows what each of us can handle and what each of us needs to get to the next level of progress. And so He gives us what is needed for us to get there! Grow. So instead of being like, "ugh, when will I get that," I should think, "Well, I'll get it eventually precisely because I'm being obedient even when it is hard or confusing or I feel like I'm in a cloud. And God obviously has some big blessings in store for me. He tries us not just to make life hard, but because He wants to bless us with eternal blessings!" I always think of Abraham and the blessings he received for his trials. They last eternally. I know God knows us and that we can handle a lot of things. And we can trust that we will get to where we want to be if we just keep being diligent and working:) I'm so proud of all that you are doing. Thanks for being a fellow fighter for truth!!!
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