"Son, go and work today in the vineyard," Pastor Robert Reeve
I particularly liked today's message at church. The past two weeks there have been missionaries coming to speak and they've opened my eyes a bit. I'd like to share my notes from today.
The message today came from Matthew 21:28-31.
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.
Pastor Reeve began simply with the declaration that our most honest, most powerful, most God loving prayer is to ask Him for help. "Help, help me! Help me change everything in my life." In our times of struggle, the greatest thing that we can do is go to Him, confident that He is using our suffering to bear fruit.
Our lives are divided into two things: the wings and the roots. In our youth, in our excitement, we desire wings to fly and do amazing things. In our wisdom, we desire to share the roots which have so heavily founded our faith. In Malachi 4:6, the prophet says, "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction." Thus, in order for the wings and the roots to work together, we must have a relationship with our parents.
The Great Commission that we know and hold dear to our hearts essentially is a command to go. Here, in verse 28, we see that the verb is preceded by something else. The word "son," displays the relationship that is cultivated before all things. Just as Jesus was baptized, the Lord said from Heaven, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Before Jesus had even started His ministry, God declared His love and pride in Him. The relationship preceded the actions.
Of course, action is necessary. Again, we are called to go and our God is a missional God. With His love as the catalyst, He sends us to be missionaries for Him. The philosopher Aristotle said "Where your talents and the needs of the world cross; there lies your vocation." We are children of God, gifted with love and authority beyond understanding, and we cannot let this gift be wasted.
We are not called to go when it is convenient; rather our responsibility is to make each "today" the moment when we work. Again, God has given us so much opportunity to make the most of our lives. Especially for those of us in the US where we are free to practice and share our faith no matter where we are. But we need to also be aware of where we are working. There are many places in our lives that need the Gospel, dry fields that are ready to be sown and to bear new fruit. For me, it is family, friends, and Rutgers, among other things. Where is your vineyard?
The truth is, we are often both sons. As the people responded to Jesus, the one who rejects but still works is doing the will of the father. Doing God's work is scary. God through Jesus gave us an example of what we need to do with our lives, which is to die upon a cross. This is costly grace, that our lives were bought with such a great price. And we doubt and doubt and doubt, but as verse 29 states, "afterward [we] changed [our] mind and went." Make now the afterward, the later on when we realize what we need to do. This change of heart is repentance, where we are given the chance to change what we've decided and go forth for God. There will always be doubt, but there will also always be a chance to repent and redeem our doubt so that we can do the will of our Father.
Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." ... He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
Even Jesus wanted to be free of the suffering that He would endure. But here is the truth: in that moment of suffering, we are doing the utmost in glorifying God. By suffering for Him, we are showing Him that even the worst pains of this world cannot take away from the love He's shown us. And so when we suffer, we have joy.
We must recommit every single day, every moment of our lives.
I know this is long, but I don't particularly think it matters. I really placed this here for myself, because I know I'm going to forget. If you read this, I hope you were blessed. Even if you didn't I hope you are blessed.
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