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A COMMUNITY OF GRACE

TEXT

Matthew 20:1-16 TNIV

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.  He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’  So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.  About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around.  He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his supervisor, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.  So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.  But each one of them also received a denarius.  When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.  ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you.  Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?  Take your pay and go.  I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.  Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?  Or are you envious because I am generous?’

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

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God’s Kingdom runs differently than the world’s.  God’s kingdom is about unmerited grace, freely distributed to all, bringing all into relationship with each other.  There should be no competition in the kingdom; all are leveled by grace, united in grace, brought together no matter how hard they work or when they get on board.

But this leveling by grace not only strips us from our status and position; it invites us into new relationships with these fellow workers, receiving the benefits of the landowner.  We are incorporated into a new community of grace.  We are no longer in competition, no longer fighting for the same denarius; our generous landowner gifts us equally, without favoritism. We are united in grace.  We are displayed in the trophy room of heaven, a testament to His labors and efforts.  It is all grace.

-Brian Rhea

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WHAT IS THIS? Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus that transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.

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