Unsettling the Settled

To be totally honest I loved it when our pastor was "unfocused." He spent some time in the desert earlier this year and his messages, while still good, were not the unsettling, challenging, thought provoking messages I had come to expect. I should have known that a man of God will recognize something is amiss and correct it. He has. Last Sunday the message came from Matthew 20: 1-13 and I was all set with my good old western understanding of scripture to hear a standard sermon. Wrong! The parable must address us not we bringing our understanding to the parable. The justice seekers (fairness people), of which I tend to be one, don't like this parable so we try to explain it away. I had to face the fact that I don't like it if someone does less and gets the same. I didn't like it if someone made a death-bed conversion to escape the fiery furnace. That wasn't fair. Those who worked all day should receive more, those who came later should receive less. It's a very simple concept, why does God have to mess it up? I am afraid I had always held the idea that my relationship with God was about my goodness and not His grace. Is God fair? Nope, if He were fair, where would I be? I don't deserve anything, no one does. If not for His unmerited favor none of us would have the hope of eternal life. In Matthew 19, Peter asks about who would be saved? The answer is about the endless possibilities of who will be saved. Am I doing my part? Saying no to this world is the part I must start with. I primarily live to serve myself. May that change in the days, weeks, and years ahead.