Are you a hired laborer? Do you consider yourself a hired laborer? Have you ever worked in a field? Have you labored in the hot sun hoeing a row of beans or corn? Do you enjoy physical labor or desk labor? Do you ever think about laboring for Christ?
Whether we like to think of ourselves this way or not, we are all hired laborers. Some of us work for an hourly wage. Others work for a salary. We have been hired by a business to perform specific tasks. We may like to think more highly of ourselves, but we are just hired laborers.
On the other hand, we are also hired laborers for God. God has offered the gift of eternal life. He sent His Son to pay the price for that gift. Yet, when we accept that gift, he also desires us to work in his vineyard. He wants us to work at planting seeds. He wants us to water those seeds. He wants us to cultivate relationships and draw people to him. He wants us to harvest those people—bring them into the kingdom when they are ready.
Jesus tells the parable of the laborers in the vineyard so we can better understand what the kingdom of heaven is like. The kingdom is now. We are to be laborers in the kingdom now. We have been created to love him and to obey him. We are to labor out of love and obedience.
Jesus sent us into the vineyard to work when he said we are to go into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). He said we are to cultivate them when he said we are to teach them what we know about Him (Matthew 28:20). No, we are not to be stagnant, lazy, nor sit around and wait for someone else to do it. We are to be a laborer for Jesus.
I pray we all realize we are to labor for Jesus. I pray we choose to go into the field before us. I pray each one of us will build relationships, speak of Jesus, and bring others into the kingdom of heaven. Be a laborer for Christ. Go make disciples. Go teach others about Jesus. Go out of love. Go out of obedience.
Matthew 20:1-2 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.”
Marty Pressey 