Speak friend and enter.

I both like and dislike this one.

Lost Sheep

Luke 15: 7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance”

What is at work here? What is God getting at? I think most people, most religious people, most Christians, love to gloss over this verse. We don’t like it. It is contrary to what we, our human selves, hold to be true and right. It is offensive. “There will be more joy in heaven…” Does that not offend you? Is all the hard work and sacrifice that a follower of Christ is called to less pleasing to God than a single act of repentance? The simple and difficult answer is apparently yes. How is that possible? Does all of our devotion, all of the good things we’ve done in God’s name, do they all earn us nothing? Again, the answer is apparently not. Offended yet? It upsets my whole sense of propriety. Those who get the rewards are those who earn them. Harder work and stronger devotion lead to better rewards. But in the kingdom of heaven this is not so.

The parable of the workers in the field illustrates this as well (Matthew 20:1-16). In this parable the owner of a field hires men to work in his field at five different times throughout the day, from early in the morning till just before the work day ended. At the end of the day, each group of workers received the same wage. Those who worked all day and endured the full heat of the sun received the same pay as those who worked only a single hour as the sun was setting. Those workers who had been in the fields since morning doubtlessly wondered the same thing that we do today. How does that make sense? Is that fair? Why? One word. Gratitude. Come again? I think the point is, that the Kingdom of Heaven is not an earthly kingdom. You don’t work for God, serve Him, and devote your life to Him because doing so will earn you a larger prize. The prize is freely given; all works, sacrifices, and devotions must spring from gratitude to a being that loves you enough to save you.

There is only one prize, only one gift, and that gift is given to every follower of Christ, regardless of when they were called to work in the fields. We don’t like that though, motivation by gratitude is too open ended, there is no “enough”, no finish line; it doesn’t fit within our earthly kingdom of heaven, so it is ignored. Neither can we accept that all our work and devotion means less than the single repentant act of a “lost sheep”. But that is the truth. To we whom have been given everything, everything is the only possible repayment. Gratitude is the only thing in the world that will allow you to give everything you have and be happy that you receive nothing in return.