Monday 17 September, 2012

9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. 13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” 17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’[a]? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” 19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

I’ve read this story of the evil farmers many times, and it never ceases to amaze me the lack of respect shown – the lack of respect for people & for others property. In this passage, I know that Jesus is referring to the religious leaders & priests, and their disrespect for Jesus God’s only son. It makes me mad to think that they could disrespect Jesus this way. That they would let God down this way – the one they called Lord …

BUT, am I (or we) any different? I know there have been times in my own life where I have not treated others in a respectful way. Whether as a teenager and thought I knew better than my parents – after all they were never young and couldn’t understand that the fun didn’t start until after curfew time!! Or choosing not to follow a leader/boss because “my way” was always better. Through my disrespect at these times, I was letting God down.  I may have never murdered anyone to get what I wanted (and that’s a good thing…) but I still disrespected God’s plan and way, thus letting Him down.  His heart & plan is all about loving God and loving others – when I choose to do different to this, I step outside of His plan.

Respect comes in many ways – with our spouses & families, boss, pastor, leader, friend, the list goes on… it’s really all about our heart and attitude towards God and others. Know that God loves each of us, more than we could ever comprehend.

Written by Ps. Mandy Miller