Its not fair!

No, its not fair - its Grace. In church today we talked about the parable of the gracious vineyard owner who went out and hired workers at the beginning of the day. (Matthew 20) He offered to pay them a full day's wage for twelve hours of work and they agreed. Then, throughout the day, he went back five times and hired more workers, saying he would pay them what he thought they deserved. The last crew he hired at the 11th hour! When the day was over, he lined them up to pay them, starting with the most recent hired. He paid them a full day's wage. When he got down to the original group, they thought for sure that they would earn double for all of their hard work. But the owner paid them a day's wage - just like everyone else. The people were outraged!! "How can you pay us all the same, when some only worked an hour, and others of us slaved away in the scoring heat all day!?!" they protested. But the owner looked at them and said, "Did I not give you when we agreed upon? Are you angry at me because I am gracious to others? Or are you only angry because it does not benefit you more?" Slap! Basically - stop your whining! Not that I blame them. There are days at work when I have been on my feet for twelve hours - waiting on the impossible, and cleaning up after the messy, only to make half of what one lucky dog makes off two generous tables in two hours. It happened just the other day. I had worked a double and barely made $70 - while Tommy came in at 5:30 and made $65 off ONE table! I wanted to be happy for his sake, but I was upset because I felt like I had put in more time, therefore, I deserved more!! But...God tells us that this is not how grace works. Grace is for everyone. For the lazy, the ambitious, the silly, the lonely, the wrong and the wronged. It is so much easier to accept grace for ourselves than it is to watch others that we don't think deserve it have it lavished upon them. When Jesus was on the cross, the thief next to him asked for Jesus to remember him - and what did Jesus say? "I'm sorry - you stole from someone and wrecked their lives. You are getting what you deserve - sorry. Should've thought about one before, huh buddy?" NO!! Even in his most painful and vulnerable moment, Jesus extended grace. Was that fair to the young couple standing in the crowd, watching the man who had stolen from them and destoryed their sense of security "get what he deserved"? No. But then again, God never claimed that grace was fair. If it were fair, it wouldn't be good. If we had to earn grace, well, we wouldn't. Because we know that "we have all fallen short of the glory of God," - but His grace is sufficent enough to cover us all. Trust me, we don't want a "wage-earning relationship" with Christ - that will just leave us poor and broken.

Grace may be unfair, and it may tick us off sometimes. But we aren't calling the shots. God's grace is a Grace that offends. But, thankfully so - because there are times when we need that same kind of grace. I loved my pastor's defination of grace this morning: "Grace. Grace is the free, undeserved, INEXHAUSTIBLE love and favor given to unworthy and undeserving people!!"

"Hallalujah. Grace like rain falls down on me. Hallalujah. All my stains are washed away. T'was grace that taught my heart to fear. And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed. Hallalujah. Grace like rain falls down on me." - (Todd Agnew)

So no, it's not fair - it is Grace.