perspective change!

So, I have heard different messages on Matthew 20:1-16 (The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard) and I’ve been in Bible studies focusing on this passage, but today I was brought to a whole new understanding of the parable and what it means for me. I love it when this happens.

My Pastor taught on this parable today and encouraged us to go beyond what is normally associated with the passage which is salvation. He paralleled it with the Prodigal Son story and made an observation that we often associate with the “older son” or the workers that were hired early in the morning. We compare ourselves to others and we often fall in this category. What if we identified with the Prodigal Son or the workers hired late in the day? Well, the perspective changes for me. The workers that were hired first come to believe that the landowner NEEDS them, but those that came late come to believe that the landowner WANTS them. God wants us, God calls us to come to him and our response should be “WOW, I can’t believe you want me to come with you...what can I do?” The workers didn’t think twice, they trusted the landowner and were overwhelmed by the opportunity to serve. They had been doing nothing because no one would hire them. In the last hour, the landowner hired more hands to do fewer work...most people would say that is a waste of money. However, the landowner wasn’t worried about what other people thought, he cared about the workers. In the same way, God’s plans are not always easy to understand because it isn’t rational to us, but God’s eyes are not focused on what makes sense in the eyes of men he just wants to take care of his children. I can only be grateful because whatever God has planned for my life is not about what I’ve done to deserve it, but about who God is and what is best for me--no matter how irrational it seems to other people or myself

I’m excited to be called and I pray that my response is always “ok, God, what do you have for me to do next...”