In chapter 19 we read how the religious were testing Jesus regards divorce, and then how a rich gentleman came to see him. Both exchanges, regardless of their motivations, had the issue of humans wondering about what they must do to earn entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
Squeezed in-between was this little incident of Jesus instructing us to be like the little humans who do not worry about “doing this or that”.
Jesus said, “Allow the little children, and don’t forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these.”
We come to another situation, and this time the humans seem to have the exact plan/process worked out. The Master’s process is different. We read of people dissatisfied with the Master’s process.
I wonder if we miss the bit, the bit that hour after hour the Master goes and calls people to join Him in his work. If you were the Master, and you went out and found people who, with one hour of work left in the day—you had never seen before looking for work—what would you think and do?
Would you call them to work?
The Master does.
Jesus is always calling. It says in His Word,
9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
I love the phrase “not slow”. You might even say persistent. He pursues, hour after hour and day after day.
For the workers that day, they were seeing the world through their economy, and not God’s. Perhaps for God is it not a matter of economics.
For God, it is about family—He desires we all be home with him.
Yet we must remember Jesus’ ending words, “many are called, but few are chosen”.
Let’s pray: “Lord Jesus thank you for calling—thank you for choosing.”