This is the reply of Jesus to the chief priests who were asking Him
questions, trying to trick Him.
But what
think ye? A certain man had two sons;
and he came to the first, and said, Son go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but
afterward he repented, and went. And he
came to the second, and said likewise.
And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his
father? They say unto Him, the first,
Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the
harlots go into the kingdom
of God
Jesus makes a pretty bold statement here, saying that the commonly
despised tax collectors (publicans) and the prostitutes will go to heaven,
because they believed in Jesus when John the Baptist told them. I’m glad God is no respecter of status, but
I’m concerned about the second brother who is a “Dragging Your Feet Christian.”
When his father asks him, he spouts off (paraphrased), “Sure, I’ll help
you, Dad,” but he never did what he promised to do. Actually, that seems worse than being honest
and saying, “I’m sorry, I can’t do it right now,” because at least people can
plan accordingly and not depend on that person to accomplish the task. I do this when I read how we’re supposed to
share our love for Jesus with those who might not know Him. I say, “Sure I will, God. I really love You and I want to do whatever
it is that You want.” Do I do it? Nope.
I just plan to share my faith with others, but I’m still dragging my
feet.
Well, the father in this parable forgave the son who said he wouldn’t
do it but changed his mind and did it after all, but that wasn’t the case for
the other son. I don’t want God saying,
“Debbie said she’d share her faith, but did she? Yeah, she wrote this book, but she never went
out of her comfort zone and really took any risks. What would have happened if Jesus never took
the risks to be humiliated, crucified and rise from the grave? He went through all of that for her and she
thinks she can fool Me. She says that
she’s only too glad to help out, but doesn’t do a single thing. I’ve got her number!”
Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
