Keeping Track
Posted by
Pastor Coon
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From My Desk
Matthew 20:15 "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?"
Have you been keeping track? Do you know someone who is always watching the clock, counting the minutes of overtime? Do you think God ever pays overtime? Does He know what you are doing today?
Matthew 20:1-16 is a parable about hired servants. The master hires workers, and he repeats to each group that he will give them "whatsoever is right" (20:4,7). So the servants had the same pay, but some of the workers angry because the workers hired later received the same pay. The master in the parable has some searching words for the angry servants: "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?"
By way of application, our Master-the Lord Jesus-can do what He wants with what belongs to Him. If we were the ones keeping track, we would keep a different record than God, both in salvation and daily work. Think of the thief on the cross: at his last moment of life, he prays what is really an incorrect prayer, and yet he received what he did not deserve! Can you hear the attitude of the hired servants coming out? The truth is, the thief on the cross received what he did not deserve, and you and I get the same thing at salvation. God can do what He wants with what is His.
God's goodness should never be reason for your jealousy. Romans 12:15 tells us to "weep with them weep" and "rejoice with them that do rejoice." It is much easier to weep with the weeping because it looks big-hearted. To rejoice with someone rejoicing is a horse of a different color. We think he is the last person who needs our help.
God's goodness should be reason to trust Him. The hired servants in Matthew 20 were equally faithful to the opportunities given, although the opportunities varied. Is God a Righteous Judge? Yes, God is a Good God; He is a Righteous God. Hebrews 6:10 reminds us that "God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love . . . ." The fact of the matter is, anything we get beyond Hell is grace. We do not deserve salvation, and everything beyond Hell that God gives is grace. Are you keeping track, or do you think that you could trust God with that? Are you keeping track? Remember there is a God in Heaven Who is!
Have you been keeping track? Do you know someone who is always watching the clock, counting the minutes of overtime? Do you think God ever pays overtime? Does He know what you are doing today?
Matthew 20:1-16 is a parable about hired servants. The master hires workers, and he repeats to each group that he will give them "whatsoever is right" (20:4,7). So the servants had the same pay, but some of the workers angry because the workers hired later received the same pay. The master in the parable has some searching words for the angry servants: "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?"
By way of application, our Master-the Lord Jesus-can do what He wants with what belongs to Him. If we were the ones keeping track, we would keep a different record than God, both in salvation and daily work. Think of the thief on the cross: at his last moment of life, he prays what is really an incorrect prayer, and yet he received what he did not deserve! Can you hear the attitude of the hired servants coming out? The truth is, the thief on the cross received what he did not deserve, and you and I get the same thing at salvation. God can do what He wants with what is His.
God's goodness should never be reason for your jealousy. Romans 12:15 tells us to "weep with them weep" and "rejoice with them that do rejoice." It is much easier to weep with the weeping because it looks big-hearted. To rejoice with someone rejoicing is a horse of a different color. We think he is the last person who needs our help.
God's goodness should be reason to trust Him. The hired servants in Matthew 20 were equally faithful to the opportunities given, although the opportunities varied. Is God a Righteous Judge? Yes, God is a Good God; He is a Righteous God. Hebrews 6:10 reminds us that "God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love . . . ." The fact of the matter is, anything we get beyond Hell is grace. We do not deserve salvation, and everything beyond Hell that God gives is grace. Are you keeping track, or do you think that you could trust God with that? Are you keeping track? Remember there is a God in Heaven Who is!
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