“But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” - Matthew 21:28-32
Our life is full of opportunities to say "yes" to God, and also, to say "no".
We are free, and we can choose either one or the other. But when we choose to say “yes,” God expects us to stay true to Him, and to be consistent with our decision.
It is useless to say “yes” with our lips if our way of acting does not confirm our words.
In this case it is more meritorious, after having said "no", to repent of what was said, and act as if we had said "yes", as Jesus teaches in the parable.
Many times we believe that we are good people, and that we "deserve salvation", because in our life there is one or another pious practice, which we carry out with the desire to "please God", but in the rest of the time, we do not remember for nothing of Him, and we live according to our wishes and whims.
On the other hand, there are people who, despite being branded by others - and also by us - as "sinners", estranged from God due to some circumstance in their life, who recognize their smallness, and with humble hearts beg for his mercy and compassion. with true repentance, and a deep desire for conversion.
Faithfulness and consistency are two essential qualities of the disciples of Jesus.
Faithfulness enables us to persevere in time and despite it, in our original decision to make his message of love and salvation come true in our lives. Consistency leads us to fully match our decisions and our actions.
Both require a great effort on our part, but with the grace of God, who is always ready to help us, both are possible.
We live in difficult times for faith; times in which to remain faithful and be consistent, can bring us displeasure, in many cases serious, and with people who are important to us; It can even happen - why not? - that at some point and due to some circumstance, our life is threatened; but God expects from us generosity and dedication to his cause; that's why we can't give up.
Faith gives us the certainty that whatever happens, He will be with us, accompanying us, strengthening us, illuminating us with his light, as he did with Jesus.
