Matthew 21:28-32New International Version (NIV)
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Have you ever had someone tell you that they were going to do something…something that you were depending upon them to do and for whatever reason they did not do it?
Wouldn’t you rather have had them say “No?” In this parable, Jesus talks about two sons that were asked by their father to work in the vineyard. One said, “No, I won’t go,” but did. The other said, “Yes, I’ll go,” but didn’t.
There’s something about the attitude of the first son that resonates with me. There have been times in my life when I’ve felt God leading me to do something that I was not particularly excited about doing…accepting the call to preach…accepting the call to pastor…changing the course of my desired career path to honor God’s direction for my life to name a few. There have been times when I’ve wrestled with God, not readily surrendering my will. Honestly, there have been times when I said, “NO!” Later, however, my “no” became a “yes.” This parable speaks to me because in it, we experience the abounding grace of God.
It seems that Jesus would rather have us wrestle and confront our struggle and evolve into a “yes,” than to blurt out a yes when we really mean NO! God honors the processes of our human frailty. Time and experience have taught me that there are abundant blessings in yielding to God’s will. There
still are times, however, when I don’t want to do what I hear. Internally, I say, “No!” But my desire to be faithful, my reverential fear and ultimately my longing to stay close to the Lord wins out and my no becomes, yes.
Retrospectively, I realize the abundant blessings I would have missed had I stuck to my “no.” But I am grateful for the patience, mercy, grace and love of God that allowed me to express my true feelings. By the loving nudges and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, I began to see the need and find the will to say “Yes.”
When our heart’s aim is to please the Lord, even when we start out with “No,” our love for God, our desire to be in God’s will and our understanding that without the Lord we are nothing, our “Yes,” eventually emerges.
It’s better to say “No,” and allow the work of God’s Holy Spirit to convict and draw you into yielding, than to mindlessly say “Yes,” and then fail to keep your word.
By God’s grace, may we do what we say.
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Shepastor1@hotmail.com
Until next Wednesday,
In Faith, Hope and Perseverance,
Pastor Chris
www.shepastorchris.org
