A Short Life
In just a little while my wife and two sons and I will be headed to the funeral home to prepare for our last final goodbye to Nate…..
Mathew 20:1-16 (Jesus said) “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.
“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
I had always interpreted this to be about people who did not accept Jesus as their Lord until later in life. And on the main level it is about that. Yet I have learned that as deep as God is, His word is multidimensional, it is layered in meaning that allows it to be as 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is God-breathed(inspired) and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”
And as Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints, and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Because God word is alive it still speaks to us today with incredible relevance and application, though it may have been penned over 2,000 years ago.
So as I meditated, and mused over what I am going through this passage came to my mind and I saw it in reverse. Nate may only have worked a few hours in the vineyard, but he worked as unto the Lord. He worked with passion with Joy with Love. He cared and showed the true Agape (Greek for unconditional) Altruistic love of God. He, like God, was no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, “I now realize how true it is that God is no respecter of persons” (God does not show partiality or favoritism))
And though Nate only walked this earth 16 years, his reward, will be no less. There is no doubt in my mind that he is in heaven. Because of the grace of God and the faith and trust that Nate put in Jesus. Even though Nate may have lost sight of that hope in the darkness, it is a truth that carries through.
My heart goes out to Nate’s friends. I love each one of you, and so does Nate, so does God, so does Jesus. I encourage you to run your race, live your life with zeal. Even in the darkest times don’t lose sight of the hope that God has for your tomorrow. Live this life to the fullest even as you await the day you enter into the next age and see Nate and Jesus face to face.
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