Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 16.
The last of the laborers came to the steward to receive their pay. They are paid a denarius, as agreed, but they murmur against the householder. They believed that they were deceived. They believed that they were mistreated. They believed that the pay that they received was unfair because they worked all day.
They were the first to come to the vineyard and the last to leave. They sought work in the market place and agreed to work for a denarius. They did not know that others would be hired. They did not know that others would be paid the same amount. The only knew that they agreed to work for a denarius and believed that they were receiving a fair amount for their labor. But when it came time for payment, they saw that others who came after them received the same amount. They were dissatisfied: saying, "These last have worked a single hour."
Such is the way of comparison. We compare ourselves to others and loose the sense of our own self, the sense of our own self worth, the sense of who we are. What makes us happy? What makes us satisfied? What will fulfill our needs? What will make us content within ourselves? Who are we that we do not know who we are? For it is the nature of discovery that allows us to understand. And it is in that understanding that we come to know who we are.
Are you satisfied with who you are or are you continuously in search of the things that others have to satisfy yourself? The laborers were not satisfied when they compared their labor to the labors of others. They worked the day long. They agreed to a fair amount but when compared with others who worked less for the same amount, they were dissatisfied. It was in the comparison that they decided they were unhappy. It was in the comparison that they saw others who were paid the same. It was in the comparison that they felt hurt and pained that they did not get more. What does it take to make us happy? What does it take to give us satisfaction? Are we continuously reviewing and revising what will make us happy so that we never know what will give us joy?
Just like the laborers in the parable, we grumble and murmur against the house-holder. We want what we see others having and believe what we see that others have, will make us happy. Yet there are always others. There is always dissatisfaction with what we have in comparison to what others have. There is always that which we see in others that we want for ourselves. Our happiness, our joy, our completeness is in others. And yet there is nothing on this earth that we see that will fill us with the joy and happiness that comes from the knowledge of who we are in Christ. For it is in the knowledge of being the children of God our Father and his love for us, that we can come to know who we are. And it is in that knowledge that we are fulfilled.
No gift or thing or object can substitute for the complete and fulfilling love that comes from God our Father. Nothing else can compare. And when you know his love nothing else is needed. In this life, nothing else can compare, nothing else will satisfy. If you yearn, if you seek, if you desire, with your whole heart, to know who you are, seek him and he will come. Know him and he will provide. Embrace him and you will be filled with his love. And in that moment you will know that there is nothing else that can compare to the love that the Father has for you, thanks to the passion of Christ Jesus.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
Part 16.
The last of the laborers came to the steward to receive their pay. They are paid a denarius, as agreed, but they murmur against the householder. They believed that they were deceived. They believed that they were mistreated. They believed that the pay that they received was unfair because they worked all day.
They were the first to come to the vineyard and the last to leave. They sought work in the market place and agreed to work for a denarius. They did not know that others would be hired. They did not know that others would be paid the same amount. The only knew that they agreed to work for a denarius and believed that they were receiving a fair amount for their labor. But when it came time for payment, they saw that others who came after them received the same amount. They were dissatisfied: saying, "These last have worked a single hour."
Such is the way of comparison. We compare ourselves to others and loose the sense of our own self, the sense of our own self worth, the sense of who we are. What makes us happy? What makes us satisfied? What will fulfill our needs? What will make us content within ourselves? Who are we that we do not know who we are? For it is the nature of discovery that allows us to understand. And it is in that understanding that we come to know who we are.
Are you satisfied with who you are or are you continuously in search of the things that others have to satisfy yourself? The laborers were not satisfied when they compared their labor to the labors of others. They worked the day long. They agreed to a fair amount but when compared with others who worked less for the same amount, they were dissatisfied. It was in the comparison that they decided they were unhappy. It was in the comparison that they saw others who were paid the same. It was in the comparison that they felt hurt and pained that they did not get more. What does it take to make us happy? What does it take to give us satisfaction? Are we continuously reviewing and revising what will make us happy so that we never know what will give us joy?
Just like the laborers in the parable, we grumble and murmur against the house-holder. We want what we see others having and believe what we see that others have, will make us happy. Yet there are always others. There is always dissatisfaction with what we have in comparison to what others have. There is always that which we see in others that we want for ourselves. Our happiness, our joy, our completeness is in others. And yet there is nothing on this earth that we see that will fill us with the joy and happiness that comes from the knowledge of who we are in Christ. For it is in the knowledge of being the children of God our Father and his love for us, that we can come to know who we are. And it is in that knowledge that we are fulfilled.
No gift or thing or object can substitute for the complete and fulfilling love that comes from God our Father. Nothing else can compare. And when you know his love nothing else is needed. In this life, nothing else can compare, nothing else will satisfy. If you yearn, if you seek, if you desire, with your whole heart, to know who you are, seek him and he will come. Know him and he will provide. Embrace him and you will be filled with his love. And in that moment you will know that there is nothing else that can compare to the love that the Father has for you, thanks to the passion of Christ Jesus.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.
