Deacon Bill's Blog

Has there ever been a time in our lifetimes when so many of our brothers and sisters need our outreach, who need to be cared for, who need to be validated, who need to be encouraged, who need to hear that they matter, who need to feel connected, who need to hear that God will sustain them through this time of isolation, who need to know that we serve a gracious and loving God who forgives our sins, and who can heal them in their suffering? How blessed we are that we can be God’s soldiers, his ambassadors and his disciples who can serve on his behalf to stand in the gap, and make a difference in people’s lives.

Made clear from Jesus' message ("Repay to Cesar what belongs to Cesar and to God what belongs to God") is that every Christian holds a dual citizenship, and both citizenships have their own benefits and duties. Our birth made us citizens of an earthly nation while our baptism made us citizens of a heavenly kingdom.  Sometimes those citizenships overlap, but in the end, our earthly citizenship will finish, while our heavenly one will last for eternity. It is obvious which one is more important!

God’s ways are so far beyond our ways. We’re promised that the last will eventually become the first and the first will eventually become the last. Our faith must show through in these four things: Trust and belief and acceptance and surrender to God’s will. In what I think may be the most illustrative line in this Gospel, the landowner asks the laborer, “Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?” We must honor God’s sovereignty.