I just attended the funeral of a friend gone much too soon. One of the scripture passages read really got me thinking. In Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus tells the parable of the landowner who hires workers for the vineyard at different times of the day yet pays them all the same amount. The workers who were hired first are upset they weren’t paid more than the others and the landowner answers “are you envious because I’m generous?”
This got me thinking about us Christians who have spent a lot of time trying to do what’s right, going often to church, giving our energy to others, and making choices we think God would be proud of. We then sometimes focus our attention on others who may or may not be “living in the light” and we worry about their standing with God.
Is that really our job? When we look at someone else’s life and assess it, doesn’t that qualify as judging? We are so good at fooling ourselves that we believe our assessment of others is out of concern for them, but it often helps us feel better about our own position.
God loves the world and everyone and everything in it much more than we do, and God sees our righteousness as “filthy rags.” No one, not one of us is better than another in God’s eyes. Believer or not, God sees us and loves us equally. While we may feel secure in our acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty in our lives, we need to remember humility. Only God knows the heart of a person, and religion has nothing to do with it. He is capable of saving all without my help or even my opinion, so maybe I should concentrate more on loving the way God loves.
Do I even want everyone to be saved? It’s an honest question. Do I want people who have been horrible on earth to be equal with me in heaven? Shouldn’t they get punished? I’ve seen so many awful FB posts by proclaimed Christians clamoring for public executions of criminals. Does God rejoice in our hatred of others?
Truth is, I am much like the workers in Jesus’s parable who were hired early in the day, I’m upset others who might not be working as long or as hard as me will get the same reward. I’m also ready to cry “not fair!” when God forgives someone who I see as unforgivable.
That’s because our way of thinking is based on transaction, not transformation. We’re always calculating, measuring, and building hierarchical lists. God’s thinking is based on love. This is why we must be “transformed by the renewing of our minds,” instead of conforming to our old patterns of transactions and hierarchy. It’s a daily struggle, and can only happen when love rules our hearts and minds.
Love cancels judgement and desires redemption for all. There is no fear when we love like God loves, therefore I don’t need to worry about others’ salvation, I just need to love them the way that God loves us all.
Seasons of the Soul 