Part 2
When I penned Life.Is.Not.Fair. yesterday, I did not intend for it to be a Part One. But after reading a comment by Nate on that post, I certainly looked at the parable in a different light. It is light in which the parable was actually intended. So I will expand on that.
I wasn’t born into a Christian home per se. Oh, my parents dabbled in Sunday services until we kids started to complain. Dad was brought up in a strict Catholic home and even went to an all boys Catholic school. Mom grew up in the Lutheran church and before she could marry my dad had to sign a document that stated their future children would be brought up Catholic. Dad taught catechism in our home to high schoolers. We kids went to other homes for catechism. Even Father Cull came to our home for spaghetti dinners. All of that was relatively short lived.
We had a huge Bible on our coffee table filled with beautiful colored pictures. They were copies of pictures that probably hang in a museum somewhere or maybe in a cherished Catholic Church. Mom would insist that nothing, absolutely nothing, was ever to lay on top of it. That Bible was a symbol of Christianity to my mom and she cherished it. That is until Rufus Q. Poopsalot chewed it to pieces much to her heartbreak.
I ventured out into the religious world on my own when I got older. I was different from my family. I was in search of a personal relationship with God. I had questions. I needed the answers in order to find peace. Christianity had to be more than a gorgeous Bible laying on a coffee table.
I got married a year out of high school. I stumbled upon a job with a newspaper out of Hicksville. Really. That’s the name of an actual town. I was given my own column to write. I was handed a camera and sent off to find interesting stories about people. And I loved it. I went into the community and interviewed people and businesses alike.
One of my personal favorite interviews was with a man and the huge beaver dam on his wooded property. The man remained anonymous in order to protect the dam. It was a fascinating dam story. 🙂
But my very first interview was with a preacher man. (All in God’s timing.) His congregation had started a Christian school. It was a great story. He seemed quite knowledgeable about the Bible. One thing led to another and he gave me answers to the questions I had been carrying since I was young. It was only a matter of time until I was baptized. I was 20.
I wasn’t born into a family where God was personal. God was more like an image that was set on a shelf and dusted around. Some people are born into families that have a strong Christian foundation and values. The children grow up knowing nothing else other than Christianity.
So this brings me to the parable.
I would like to summarize and expand on the illustration that Nate used in his comment.
After a collision at sea, people were thrown into the darkness of the deep. Young and old grabbed onto any floatable device to keep from drowning. A ship comes to the rescue and begins to bring the drowning (repentant) people safely aboard. Those on the ship have been in a saved relationship with Christ and should rejoice that those pulled from the water finally found their salvation before the sea claimed their souls.
The laborers of the vineyard who worked all day should have rejoiced in their salvation of the vineyard. But instead they grumbled at what they viewed as unfairness for those who only worked an hour before the harvest was complete.
This is a wonderful parable. I guess I can relate with it as I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I would have been upset that my wage was the same after working all day as the one who worked an hour. I’m just being honest here. But in matters of salvation, as this parable was intended, I would have deserved the stern rebuke and the need for repentance.
Thank you Nate, for your illustration. I appreciate your comment. I hope I did it justice. ♥️
Below is the only picture I could find at the moment of Rufus Q. Poopsalot. It certainly isn’t a very good angle, but you get the idea. (The “Q” stands for Quincy.) Also in the picture is my mom, brother, and me.
On another note: I know I told you I was not going to write so much on my blog so I could concentrate on other writings. Well….ever since I said that I have spent even more time writing here! Every spare moment is attached to my blog. I must say though I’ve been able to write in other areas as well. Go figure…🤷🏼♀️
Have a blessed new week. Find joy in your salvation. Look into the face of unfairness and shout, “you don’t own me!” And like the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8: 26-40, go on your way rejoicing! ♥️
Andi
Coffee with Andi 