28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Some people call it tact. Others call it prudence. It’s those times we say one thing while we believe another. We reserve it for the times we don’t have the energy for a confrontation…or we just don’t care enough to tell the truth.
“Can you come home straight after work today? We’re having visitors.”
“OK, I will.”
If we meant it, we wouldn’t have forgotten. But…it’s easier than saying “I don’t want to”. What begins as ambivalence ends up a lie…when we don’t do what we say.
This has serious consequences in a relationship. And, by the way, we and God are in a relationship. We are the “Bride of Christ”.
I _____, take you Jesus Christ, to be my Lord and Savior. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death we are eternally joined. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
Sort of eliminates the liberty to proclaim we’ll follow Christ today while we do whatever we please once our devotions are over. In fact, an honest and contrite prostitute will see God’s Kingdom before the folks who put on a good show (aka Pharisees).
So, who’s obedient and who isn’t? Only the heart that is pure and submissive before God. And…that’s not always easy to see from the outside. Rather than worry about who is and who isn’t…perhaps we should be more concerned about why a prostitute might get into the kingdom before the pillars of the community (some of them sit on the front pew).
A healthy dose of that reality should prompt me to open my spirit and respond obediently to God. When I worry about my own heart I have less time to worry about yours. I should leave that to you and God. As for my own heart…I can measure it by my fidelity to the promises I made.
Live boldly out there today…
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