A few years ago, homeowners in the northeast were given an opportunity to avoid projected increases in their monthly heating bills by signing contracts which set their rates at a fixed level for two years. Some signed the contracts, believing it would save them money, while others decided not to. But, due to circumstances unforeseen at the time the contracts were signed, the price of home heating oil dropped and the homeowners who had signed the fixed rate contracts ended up paying more per month than the homeowners who had not. Some who had signed the contracts complained that this was unfair, but they had no case. They had agreed to a fixed rate, and they were obligated to pay according to the terms of the contract they had signed.
The beauty of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard is Jesus' teaching that the grace of God is not a contractual arrangement. The laborers hired first complained about the laborers hired last receiving the same wage, but their complaint was unfounded. At the beginning of the day, they had agreed to work for a denarius; at the end of the day they received a denarius. The owner had kept his word. There was nothing unfair about the way he treated the laborers he hired at the beginning of the day. What he chose to pay the other laborers, hired at various times throughout the day, should not have been of any concern to those hired first. The owner, and the owner alone, would make that determination. If he chose to be generous, then he chose to be generous.
For those who know its benefits, the grace of God is a beautiful thing. For those who think the favor of God is something they must work for and earn, grace is a highly offensive proposition. The first laborers thought they deserved more for having worked longer and harder. But, at the end of the day, they got what they had bargained for, nothing more and nothing less. Likewise, those who try to earn their way into the kingdom of God will find, at the end of the day, that bargaining with God will get them far less than what God would have generously given them if only they had relied on his grace alone.
Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine
Come, let us use the grace divine, and all with one accord,
In a perpetual covenant join ourselves to Christ the Lord;
Give up ourselves, through Jesus’ power, His Name to glorify;
And promise, in this sacred hour, for God to live and die.
The covenant we this moment make be ever kept in mind;
We will no more our God forsake, or cast these words behind.
We never will throw off the fear of God Who hears our vow;
And if Thou art well pleased to hear, come down and meet us now.
Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, let all our hearts receive,
Present with Thy celestial host the peaceful answer give;
To each covenant the blood apply which takes our sins away,
And register our names on high and keep us to that day!
- Charles Wesley
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