Matthew 21:28-32 (The Message)
28 "Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, 'Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.' 29 "The son answered, 'I don't want to.' Later on he thought better of it and went. 30 "The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, 'Sure, glad to.' But he never went. 31 "Which of the two sons did what the father asked?" They said, "The first." 32 John came to you showing you the right road. You turned up your noses at him, but the crooks and whores believed him. Even when you saw their changed lives, you didn't care enough to change and believe him.”
The answer to Jesus question, “Which of the two did what his Father wanted?” is obvious. The one who said no and then went anyway. It is not enough to just say yes to God. Actions must follow words or the words are empty and useless. “Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Mt. 7:21
It is not only our sin which separates us from God. Our religiosity - our pretending we are more holy then we are - our playing at our religion separates us from God. As Martin Luther once said “The curse of the godless person can sound more pleasant in God’s ears than the hallelujah of the pious.”
It is not wise to say yes too quickly, or to think that once we have said ‘yes’, there will never be a no again. Never be a doubt or a question or a hesitation. Those who seek to oppress people take away the right to say no. This God will never do.
There are times when it is healthy to say ‘no’, even to God. So we can say ‘yes’ and mean it. It has been said that a mentally healthy person can say ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘yippee’. Perhaps that is true of a healthy religious person too. We have to be born anew again, and again, and again (change our minds) as we journey with God through life. For “it takes a long time to make a soul.” Alan Jones
Those who never change their minds,
never change anything.”
Winston Churchill
Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, be patient with me as I say no so I can say yes and even yippee.”
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