Jesus described the church by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard…” (Matt. 20:1). We read these verses and easily understand what He was talking about. We know who that Man was who owned the vineyard, but have we spent enough time thinking about what the Owner said and how that applies to our lives?
Jesus used parables (simple stories about things which happen on the earth) to illustrate great truths from heaven. Think about this as you read the words of the Owner to those who became laborers. He went out five times in that one day to find people to work and offered them good wages to come to work in His vineyard. In this parable the day involved twelve hours. He needed all the workers He could find and at the eleventh hour He found more workers.
He said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” Their response showed that they would have worked more, but they had not been able to find an opportunity to work. They immediately responded to His invitation to come and work for Him.
You know the parable, but have you ever really applied His question to yourself as one who is part of the harvest He has for us to do? How ready are you to labor every day for the eternal wages that await?
There are many songs which have been written, and the “life expectancy” for most of them is so short. Few secular songs remain in the top ten for any period of time. However, there are spiritual songs that have touched the hearts of men, and one has been sung since 1880. Consider the words of one which we almost all know. There is a reason why it is still part of the songs we sing.
“I want to be a worker for the Lord, I want to love and trust His holy word, I want to sing and pray and be busy every day in the vineyard of the Lord. I want to be a worker strong and brave, I want to trust in Jesus’ power to save; All who will truly come shall find a happy home in the vineyard of the Lord.” Think about it. Trusting His holy word leads us to seeking salvation for all those around us helping them find their happy home.
The song continues, “I want to be a worker every day; I want to lead the erring in the way, That leads to heaven above where all is peace and love, in the kingdom of the Lord.” The refrain says, “I will work, I will pray, I will labor every day, in the vineyard of the Lord.”
We do not sing this as often as we once did! Is the reason this is true because we are not seeing lost souls?