Dear Weekly Readers!
May God’s Peace be truly felt in your heart today!
We are now only one
month away from our annual ALC church convention to be held in New Hampshire,
USA. I am so thankful that many people
are already working on this event, and many more are praying that God’s Word
would be spoken during this time.
I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to pray for
these meetings and services. The dates
are July 12th to July 15th!
This week our article is by Pastor Ernest “Chuck” Bylkas.
May God Bless your week!
John R.
THE GENEROUS HOUSEHOLDER!
For the kingdom of heaven
is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning
to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers
for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And he went out about the
third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto
them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you.
And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and
did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others
standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
They say unto him, Because
no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and
whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of
the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their
hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were
hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the
first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they
likewise received every man a penny.
And when they had received
it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have
wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne
the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, 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 for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am
good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but
few chosen.
Matthew
20:1-16
When I hear the parable of the laborers of the vineyard, my first thought
is, "How unfair!" Surely Jesus doesn't sanction the behavior of the
householder, does He? It seems only natural that the laborers who worked the
longest should get paid the most. The action of the householder offends our natural
sensibilities, because we hear the parable with fallen ears and a sin-stricken
mind. In fact, we probably aren't really hearing the message of the parable at
all, because our focus is misdirected.
This account is often referred to as "the parable of the laborers of the
vineyard." Perhaps a
better title would be "the parable of the generous householder."
Jesus even emphasizes this point as He begins the parable:
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder… The
parable is not about how poorly the laborers have been treated but, rather, how
kind the householder is to all of his laborers. The householder does indeed
have every right to spend his money as he wishes. He was perfectly fair to the
laborers who worked for the entire day, for they agreed to work for a penny a
day.
Those laborers were offended because the householder was equally gracious
to all those who were invited to labor in his vineyard, regardless of how long
they had worked.
What a marvelous picture of God's grace toward sinners! God is gracious
to us, not because we have labored so hard in His vineyard, but because Jesus
laid down His life for us. It is not our work that earns us anything, but the
finished work of Christ at the cross merits us the forgiveness of sins, life
and salvation.
Christ has paid the price we could not pay in order to give us the gift
we could not earn. May God be praised for the grace and mercy He has generously
shown us in His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ~our Lord. ~
Pastor Chuck Bylkas
South Range, Michigan, USA
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