“Now we have died to the law so that we might be married to a new husband, Christ, and bear fruit for God. Jesus is full of life. He is no impotent husband. He wants me to abide in Him and He in me, and I shall bear much fruit.”
Terry Virgo
I recently got stuck to a portion of the scripture in the gospel as recorded by St. Matthew 20:1-16 which was a parable narrated by Jesus in order to expound His divine supremacy over His subjects and what rewards He chooses to give them. Having considered the subject of Grace, it has been defined in different ways, but the most common exposition and conventional definition is given on grace is that it is “an unmerited favour.” What you and I have not worked for and what we did not deserve in the first place, which has now been given to us without any pay.
The Significance of Obedience
Jesus Christ responded to the murmurings of the Chief Priests and the Pharisees by narrating a parable to them. His intention is to prove to them that His grace is not determined by the hard work which a man or woman has put into daily life, ministry, or service to the community and God. It all depends on the prerogative of God Himself to determine what the reward of mankind is, as long as the common denominator, which is obedience is in place. In other words, you could conclude that there is an element of unfairness in the subject of grace.
Divine Timing and its Diversity
Early in the morning, the Landowner sought to hire labourers who would offer him service on his vineyard. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.” (Matthew 20:1-2) God has commissioned us to shine the light of peace, joy and dominion everywhere we go. You and I have been called to preach the gospel even onto the ends of the earth. That is the first and the greatest commission was given to every Christian by Jesus before His ascension. “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16).
Both parties agreed on the payments of wages and the terms of remuneration before anything was done. Due to an urgent need to meet a target on the vineyard plant, the landowner felt there was a need to cover more tasks on the site and he decided to go out at 9:00am and get more labourers. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you…” (Matthew 20:3-4).
Your Time is determined by God
The significance of the parable of Jesus at this point is to address the perspective of the fact that each of us are being called at different times and seasons of our lives. The fact that you have been saved, and have been given the testimony of salvation at a very tender age does not mean that the other person who just had the experience of salvation during his old age has less relevance before God. It does not have to do with the number of years you have served or have been in the Lord. What matters is that Jesus has given us all an opportunity to escape from darkness into His marvelous light. And this usually takes place at different times and seasons through different means and approaches. It is therefore left to you to responding to this call. A call to peace, joy and fulfillment in His kingdom has been offered to us all and Jesus is willing to receive us at any time. Some labourers started work at 6am, some at 9am and some at 12noon. So is the case of our testimonies of salvation, which occur at different times, ages, places and approaches.
Never too late to Respond
It is a deception of Satan, that you can no longer be rescued from that addiction, secret sin and the neglect of the place of putting God first in your life. The Landowner went out early in the morning, at nine and at noon to invite labourers to work on His vineyard. It was never too late for those labourers who were invited during the late afternoon. It means it is not too late for you today as you read this piece of writing. Respond to His call today in obedience and you will be saved and restored into the eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Happy New Month!
