God Owns it All

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Day workers in a vineyard
Image source: LUMO Project

In today’s Bible reading*, we read the parable of the Kingdom of God through the vineyard manager. In it, some day laborers are hired in the morning. They agree to work for a day’s wage. Several other times during the day, new workers are hired and agree to work for a day’s wage.

At the end of a hard day’s work, the owner told the foreman to arrange the workers according to when they were hired. Beginning with those who worked the most hours, the vineyard owner paid each worker the daily wage. All were paid the same. Those who worked all day grumbled when they saw that the short-day workers were paid the same as they were.

The owner rightly pointed out that no one was being cheated. Every single worker was being paid what he had agreed to. The key verse here is Matthew 20:15, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with what is mine? Are you jealous because I’m generous?” (CSB)

Application

We are so man-centered in our thinking. And that man-centered orientation twists our understanding of EVERYTHING.

I have heard many people accuse God of not being fair. It isn’t fair that God allows some people to live with lots of blessings and excess while other people aren’t even paid a “living wage”. I haven’t heard as many people decry the ultimate unfairness that some people will spend eternal rest in heaven while others spend eternal punishment in hell. That isn’t fair!

No, that isn’t fair…. from our man-centered orientation.

But if God is the owner of the vineyard, if God is the owner of everything, He can do anything He wishes. And being the only perfect being in the universe (or even outside of it!), He gets to call the shots. He gets to determine what is fair and what isn’t. Fallen human beings don’t get to judge the perfect God. Fallen human beings don’t get to make up the rules of how things work and what’s fair and what isn’t.

So, given the fact that God owns it all, given the fact that God is perfect and completely righteous, and given the fact that we are none of those things, the very idea that God would save anyone is simply shocking! That God would stoop to save a single person demonstrates His all-surpassing love, grace, and mercy.

It isn’t fair that God would send His perfect Son to die so that even one fallen person would be saved. Not because the person was worth it, but because the offense was so heinous against such a Holy God.

From our perspective, it isn’t fair that any be sent to hell. But the more pressing point is that it isn’t fair that God would save anyone. Fair means that every fallen creature that has ever lived spends eternity separated from the Holy Creator.

Trust me: You don’t want God to be FAIR!

You want God to be GRACIOUS!
You want God to be MERCIFUL!

And because God is gracious,
because God is merciful,
He is worthy of all of our praise.

* Today we are reading Matthew 20.

This devotional was originally published on May 1, 2020.


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