THE LANDOWNER - Louis Gervais

THE LANDOWNER

Hello and greetings in the Name of the Son of the Landowner, Jesus Christ! In Matthew chapter 20 you will find the parable of the landowner who went out into the market place and hired workers at five different times but paid the first group and the last group the same amount. Several things stood out to me about this analogy. We know that the landowner is God and He goes out to ‘hire workers for His fields.’ Around 5 p.m. the landowner asks men at the marketplace, “‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’” –Matthew 20:6b-7a . In my view, the unsaved are compared with idlers whose entire lives up to the point of their calling by the Master brought them no lasting profit whatsoever. And, when they finally are employed in an endeavor with eternal consequences—the shortest but most meaningful portion of their lives—those who were hired first are jealous of them instead of rejoicing with them. But the thrust of the parable comes down to this: God is the Landowner.

Whether he wants to pay the first group the fair, agreed amount or whether He wants to pay the last group an ‘unfairly large’ amount (in proportion to the amount of labor they performed) it is His decision. As in the parable; it is His money, His generosity, His vineyard and His employees. It’s all His. Therefore, it is not for a man who was saved as a child and who labored in the Lord’s Vineyard all his life to bemoan the fact that the one who accepts Christ on his deathbed will partake in the same glorious paradise as he—in fact, a man right with God would rejoice at the occurrence! The point is, we are neither in a position to criticize the fairness nor the generosity of God—we can trust His judgment and everything belongs to Him! “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” –Psalm 24:1b KJV We recently relistened to ‘The Pineapple Story’ by Otto Koning and this time around it helped me yet again. I had given the Lord the car which He had given to me, but I had not realized that ‘The Faithmobile’ would be used to teach me greater faith still. Car theft being a career in today’s South Africa, I would sometimes anxiously look out the window to see if Old Faithful was still there. But Mr. Koning recalled how he finally fully left his pineapples in God’s hands—even if they got stolen—and that eventually God Himself took the matter up with those who transgressed His property rights. Hearing that resulted in a renewed surrender of God’s car of which I am a steward which in turn caused all my anxiety about the car’s safety to cease.

Joash father of Gideon told the angry mob concerning the destruction of the altar of Baal, “If he is a god, let him contend for himself,” –Judges 6:31c , and so Gideon was called Jerubbaal meaning ‘let Baal contend against him.’ My reasoning is that the One True God is fully capable of contending with anyone who transgresses against Him in the way and timing that He chooses—because He is God. I mean, I still lock the car, but now I rest in the knowledge that the Lord knows how to handle that which is His. The persecuted family is experiencing tremendous pressure from the wrong side and would appreciate your prayers for peace and health. My grandmother, Mr. Van Niekerk and Mr. Kussman are still like those who were waiting in the marketplace. Thank you for your prayers: Daniël and I had a very good first Voorbrand/Firebreak Tour! We visited schools in Balfour, Greylingstad, Standerton, Volksrust and Amersfoort to ask if we could preach there later this year. Most responded positively! We also visited friends of our Mission. On Friday Daniël and I drove the 383 miles (616 km) to Bloemfontein—praise the Lord for safe travels! Lord-willing, Daniël and I will be staying at a boarding school this week while sharing messages about salvation and spiritual growth there and at the school. Please pray for a blessed week and for God’s wisdom to be made known to us when the teenagers come with serious life questions. Thanks for your prayers! –Louis Gervais “Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” –Romans 11:35-36