Our paragraph topic is: (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 24.
We have been writing about this parable for some time now and we come to its end. The house-holder had the right to choose to do as he pleased with his generosity to pay all the laborers the same amount and the laborers had the right to feel slighted. The first hired laborers agreed to the payment for a days labor in the beginning. They understood that they would work an entire day for a denarius. They believed that this was a fair and just payment for their labor. They were the first to come and the last to leave, the last to get paid.
It was in their payment that they turned, they changed, they felt slighted. They saw that the other laborers who came after them were paid the same amount. It was in this seeing, in this believing that their minds were changed, their hearts were bittered, their anger began to boil. But that was the decision of the house-holder and not the decision of the laborers. He decided to pay all the same. He decided to make all equal in terms of their pay. He decided to be generous. And that had no bearing on the laborers. As he told the laborers: "Even so the last shall be first, and the first last."
This is a famous quote in religious teachings, but what does it mean for those who follow the teachings of Christ today. Christ was the first of all creations. And he is the begotten son of God our Father. He was there from the beginning of all creation. Before the heavens were created and the principalities came into being, he was there with the Father. He saw it all, he knows it all, he was a part of it all in the love of God our Father. Who will be the last? Who will be the last soul to enter into the kingdom of heaven before the doors are closed and no more enter into the kingdom.
God our Father is a generous God. He is a loving God and a protective Father who watches over his children. Out of the generosity of his love he gave us life . But there will come a point when time is fulfilled and all things are completed and the judgment will come forth. There is a time when the heavens will shake and the tree of life will no longer give of its fruit. There will come a time when our savior Jesus Christ will come forth with all his angels and demonstrate his power and majesty to the world that all will know his name. When will that time come? No one knows but the Father.
Will you be the last? Will you know the truth of who you are in Christ? You have, within you, the life of the Father. You have, within you, the instructions given you through the Word. You can have, within you, the path laid out by the Advocate each day. The choice is yours to make. Will you be the last? The Father awaits you with open arms. He seeks to embrace you with his love. He desires that you come home to him instead of the place built for the outcast angels. The choice is so simple and so easy to make. The choice is a thousand times better than anything the world has to offer. Come! Take his hand and follow the path given you from the life within. You will know the truth. You will know the love. You will know peace.
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 24.
We have been writing about this parable for some time now and we come to its end. The house-holder had the right to choose to do as he pleased with his generosity to pay all the laborers the same amount and the laborers had the right to feel slighted. The first hired laborers agreed to the payment for a days labor in the beginning. They understood that they would work an entire day for a denarius. They believed that this was a fair and just payment for their labor. They were the first to come and the last to leave, the last to get paid.
It was in their payment that they turned, they changed, they felt slighted. They saw that the other laborers who came after them were paid the same amount. It was in this seeing, in this believing that their minds were changed, their hearts were bittered, their anger began to boil. But that was the decision of the house-holder and not the decision of the laborers. He decided to pay all the same. He decided to make all equal in terms of their pay. He decided to be generous. And that had no bearing on the laborers. As he told the laborers: "Even so the last shall be first, and the first last."
This is a famous quote in religious teachings, but what does it mean for those who follow the teachings of Christ today. Christ was the first of all creations. And he is the begotten son of God our Father. He was there from the beginning of all creation. Before the heavens were created and the principalities came into being, he was there with the Father. He saw it all, he knows it all, he was a part of it all in the love of God our Father. Who will be the last? Who will be the last soul to enter into the kingdom of heaven before the doors are closed and no more enter into the kingdom.
God our Father is a generous God. He is a loving God and a protective Father who watches over his children. Out of the generosity of his love he gave us life . But there will come a point when time is fulfilled and all things are completed and the judgment will come forth. There is a time when the heavens will shake and the tree of life will no longer give of its fruit. There will come a time when our savior Jesus Christ will come forth with all his angels and demonstrate his power and majesty to the world that all will know his name. When will that time come? No one knows but the Father.
Will you be the last? Will you know the truth of who you are in Christ? You have, within you, the life of the Father. You have, within you, the instructions given you through the Word. You can have, within you, the path laid out by the Advocate each day. The choice is yours to make. Will you be the last? The Father awaits you with open arms. He seeks to embrace you with his love. He desires that you come home to him instead of the place built for the outcast angels. The choice is so simple and so easy to make. The choice is a thousand times better than anything the world has to offer. Come! Take his hand and follow the path given you from the life within. You will know the truth. You will know the love. You will know peace.
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.
