today i bought $450 worth of balloons and pumps.
and carried them for slightly more than 1km.
in jeans and slippers.
ouch. lesson learnt: $450 worth of balloons and pumps weigh quite a bit.
and i must have looked like i wanted to bomb the sbs bus with those huge plastic bags of stuff.
before that, the Holy Spirit showed me,
" "Because no one has hired us," they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' " - Matthew 20:7
the Holy Spirit has revealed to me many amazing and insightful truths from the rest of this parable:
firstly, we are lazy by nature. "standing here all day doing nothing"
secondly, no one wants to hire us. "because no one has hired us"
thirdly, the gracious Lord sees worth in us. he chose us for employment.
fourthly, the Lord provides work for us. we have to work. "you also go and work in my vineyard"
fifthly, the Lord also provides blessings for us. "I will pay you whatever is right"
sixthly, the Lord doesn't exclude anyone. all is invited to work.
seventhly, the Lord desires to bless. he goes out again and again to offer employment.
eighthly, the Lord is generous. he pays all the workers a full day wage despite some of them only working 1 hour.
ninethly, the Lord is gracious to all. because grace is undeserved favour. and independent of effort. more effort is inequal to more blessings.
tenthly, the Lord is not being unfair. " "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 man 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." "
this may be slightly off topic, but as i was typing the 'Lord is gracious to all' part, a MIRACLE happened.
a bleach episode i had just only started downloading completed its download.
like, completely. like, in no more than 5 minutes. like, 170MB.
nothing of the sort has ever happened to me.
Lord, what are you saying to me?
and even as i was typing this, the Holy Spirit prompted me about my A Level results.
i achieved the same grades as those who had been sloggingtheirheartsout for 2 years, even though i started studyingseriously only at the eleventh hour. (pun intended)
it was God's greatest miracle in my life.
and the greatest demonstration of grace toward me.
this parable re-affirmed the grace i knew in a fresh way.
do we know our God?
do we recognise his character?
do we understand the way he works?
but despite this all, i felt the Holy Spirit's message for me was:
stop being a lazy bum and go WORK in my vineyard.
not because u are worthy but because i chose u.
and u will be REWARDED.
not because u think u have toiled hard but because i am generous and gracious.
yes, Lord. i obey.
APPLICATION, THEN: amen i hear thee, Lord. tend to your sheep, i will. meet with my disciples, i shall.
oh, and in hindsight, i am prompted to add that it is the HEART that matters.
are we willing to serve God? that's all that matters.
cuz if we are, then we will be rewarded.
cuz God looks at the heart.
are we WILLING or are we GREEDY for blessings?
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