St Matthew, Chapter 20, verse: 15a, The right to choose.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard)
Part 22.

The house-holder speaks to the laborers that were grumbling.  He speaks to those who were dissatisfied with their pay because they believed that they deserved more than they were paid.  They agreed upon a denarius to work for a day.  They were paid a denarius for a complete days work.  But others were paid a denarius for three quarters of a day.  And still others were paid a denarius for half a day's work.  And the last to work were paid a denarius for a quarter of a day's work.  And because the house-holder was generous with what he paid them the laborers became dissatisfied with their pay.

He made the choice.  He chose to pay the laborers as he saw fit.  He paid all, even from the last the same pay as he did the first.  And the choice was his to make.  The laborers agreed to the pay but changed when they witnessed the choice of the house-holder to pay all the same.  And he told them:  "Have I not a right to do what I choose?" 

They all had rights.  The house-holder had rights and the laborers had rights.  They all agreed upon what they agreed.  And the work went forward based upon the rights of each party to complete the agreements made.  The house-holder agreed to pay and the laborers agreed to work.  They all agreed.  But when the time for the agreement to be completed something changed.  There was a disagreement, there was dissatisfaction, there was grumbling.  So why did this take place?  Why was there disagreement at the end of the agreement? 

The state of change entered into the picture at the time of completion.  The mind was set at the beginning of the agreement.  The mind was in agreement.  The mind was satisfied.  And then change came to influence the mind.  Change came to make a comparison.  Change came to turn around the state of satisfaction to dissatisfaction and the mind was at a crossroads.  The mind had to choose.  The mind had to make a decision as to which direction it would take.  Would it continue on the road to satisfaction or would it take a different road? 

The road to dissatisfaction led to a different place.  Along the road different thoughts came into play.  Along the road different pictures were presented.  Along the road to dissatisfaction the emotions began to change and the skies became darker, the heart began to change and the once bright picture of happiness became a dark cloud of anger and frustration.  And the door was opened to let the world come in and take possession of that which would have brought happiness.  But back at the crossroads the decision was theirs, the choice was theirs to make.  The laborers had their choice to make and we today have our choice to make.  We all are brought to the crossroad at some point in our lives.  We all have the freedom to choose where we will walk, which road we will take, which path we shall follow. 

I thank God that he held my hand along the road that I traveled.  I thank God that he did not let me go.  I thank God that I was pulled back from the brink, from the cliff of the decision that came to me to take action.  I am thankful that we have a loving God, a forgiving God, a God who will protect us and guide us and keep us from harms way.  For without him I would surely be doomed, this day, for the decisions that I almost made from opening the door to the world and following in the footsteps of the influence of evil.  Today I know who I am.  Today I am saved.  Today I am a new person inspired by the new life given me by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  Today, who are you???

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.   

St Matthew, Chapter 20, verse: 8b, The Call of the Laborers: payment from first to last.

Our paragraph topic is:(Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 11. 

We all can relate to this parable because it speaks of working and labor.  We live in a society where we work to provide for ourselves.  Long past has the time gone where we were farmers.  Long past has the time gone where we lived on the land and grew our own food.  We were simple people then.  We are complex people now.  We have choices.  We have chances.  We can be who we want to be.  

This was the same opportunity that the parable speaks of in ancient times.  They came to the market place to work.  They came to the market place to find work.  They came to the market place to earn wages so that they could provide for themselves.  They came to the market place because the market place provided a better opportunity than work on the farm.  They came to the market place because they wanted to get paid.  And as Christ spoke of the owner who told his steward to pay them all:  "Beginning from the last even to the first." 

So we can conclude that all were paid.  The agreement was to work for a denarius and the payment is for a denarius.  All will receive their payment, from the very first who agreed to work to the very last who agreed to work in the vineyard.  And this is the results that Christ wants his disciples to understand about the parable, you work for the kingdom and you will be compensated by the owner of the kingdom.  He will pay.  He will abide by his agreement.  He is reliable, honest, trustworthy, and true to his promise.  He is unlike others who may cheat you.  He is unlike others who may not be reliable.  He is unlike others who may steal from you or run out on you and not pay.  The owner of the vineyard is true to his agreement.

For the agreement is the contract.  The agreement is the bond.  The agreement is the glue that makes it all work.  If there was no agreement then it would all not work.  But it is that agreement that brings the two parties together and provides some form of exchange that satisfies both.  The question is are we satisfied?  Are we in harmony with what we want from the agreement?  Are we certain that the other party in the agreement is trustworthy?  Will the other party provide all that is agreed to?  Will the other party truthfully complete the agreement?  Will the other party lie to complete the agreement?

We live in a world of untruths.  We live in a world that is filled with many shades of grey.  We live in a world where it is acceptable to change the agreement after it has been made or to offer an agreement that is untrue.  We are children.  We are sheep.  We are innocent people seeking to know the truth of who we are.  We seek to be all that we are, to see all that we can see, to know all that there is to know, to experience all that is given us to perceive.  And we do and accept all that is given us that we may reach those goals.  The world is untrue.  The world is a lie.  The world is a deceit.  How can we see through the tainted lenses?

Christ, our lord and savior, came that we would know the truth.  He came that we would have an example.  He came that we would have an open door to see through.  Yet many would only believe that there is no door, that there is no savior, that there is only what we can see, feel, taste, touch and know through our physical senses.  And that puts us at the crossroads of life.  Which direction do we take?  Do we seek the physical or do we believe in the spiritual?  Some would say that there is no evidence to demonstrate the spiritual.  And yet here we are in the flesh, spiritual beings in a physical body. 

Flesh cannot perceive what is meant to be believed.  Flesh cannot see what is meant to be known from within.  Flesh cannot know what is only open to those who will open the door to their heart and receive the gift of life given us by Christ.  Knowledge will not bring it.  Works will not pay for it.  Gifts cannot buy it.  Only desire to open the door to the heart will bring forth the love that Christ has for those who seek to know him.  Come!  Receive your pay, even from the last to the first.  Christ will rejoice in you and you will have peace in him.

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. 

St Matthew, Chapter 20, verse: 2, The Laborer's agreement.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Parable of the laborers in the vineyard) Part 2. 

Christ continues to educate his disciples on the kingdom of heaven by using a parable.  He tells them that the kingdom of heaven is like a house-holder who needs laborers to work in his vineyard.  The owner goes out to the market place and hires laborers to do the work.  He makes an agreement with them to do the work and he agrees to pay them for the work that they will do.  The agreement is for one denarius to work in the vineyard all day.  The laborers agree and go to work in the vineyard.

The disciples understand this concept because they themselves have hired laborers to work with them and have made agreements before the work has begun.  The process is simple.  The procedure is standard and used by most laborers and those seeking to hire laborers.  So Christ told his disciples:  "And having agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard."

We are given this example because most can relate to being hired for work.  In today's world we make application and have an interview and the personnel representative makes the decision to hire based on the needs of the position and the company.  We seek to work and they seek to hire.  We agree to work for a price and they agree to pay the price that we agree.  In most cases the pay is already set in writing.  So Christ is giving his disciples and us, today, a living example that we can use to compare to the kingdom of heaven. 

Why does he want us to think of the kingdom of heaven as a work-laborer relationship?  Why does he want us to understand the parallel between the two?  What are the similarities?  What are the differences?  Are we being called to work in the kingdom?  Are we being offered a work-laborer relationship?  What is our pay?  What is our compensation?  What work are we required to do?

Christ came that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  He came that we would know the truth of who we are in him.  He came to pay the price for our transgressions.  And having paid that price, he came that we would be released from the bondage of our past sins and given a new opportunity to enter into the kingdom of heaven.  We are cleansed.  We are justified.  And we are newly born again.  He has offered the invitation to work in his vineyard.  He has agreed to pay the wages for the work.  The decision is ours to make if we want to work in his vineyard.  Or the decision is ours if we want to work in the vineyard of death. 

Christ calls us.  Christ wants us.  Christ has given us the opportunity.  But it is ours to accept or to reject.  Each one and everyone has the decision to make.  What will yours be?  Who will you work for?  What will be your reward?  Come!  Let us go and work for the Lord that he may provide for us.  The harvest is great but the laborers are few.  Are you one?

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.