Can You Face Grace?

a friend of mine leads a couple of men's small groups (different ages and stages) that weekly investigate Biblical principles as a foundation for life's journey. Each is studying the parable of the workers in Matthew 20. My friend wishes for the men to fully grasp the message of this parable and not pass over it with just head knowledge. Since I had preached from this scripture (twice actually) and the parable is central to the theme of my recent book, "stuck in stinkin thinkin," he asked me to share with him some insights that may help bring the men to a deeper understanding of the parable. So here goes .....

The parable, like many Jesus tells, is describing what the Kingdom of God is like. This one and the preceding story of the Rich Young Ruler are especially focused on contrasting God's Kingdom to the earthly kingdom. The contrast is that our human nature conditions us to live based on the principles of exchange and equity (carnal mind). The rich young ruler saw the use of his money as a way of finding favor with God. The workers in the field who went out at the first hour saw wages for work (rewards from the King) to be dependent on hours worked (equity). Jesus is explaining that the Kingdom does not operate on principles of exchange and equity, but on the goodness of the King, which is the desire to bestow on his Kingdom dwellers all the privileges and provisions of His Kingdom at His discretion. Jesus says in Luke, "do not fear little flock because your Father has CHOSEN GLADLY to GIVE YOU HIS KINGDOM."

Both the rich young ruler and the first workers could not appropriate this reality and walked away. I like to say they could not face grace. The operating principle of God's Kingdom for them was nonsense (made no sense).

"The first shall be last and the last first" = NO EXCHANGE, NO EQUITY

The redemptive work of the cross and the resurrection power of Grace transforms us in such a way that Grace informs how we make sense of ourself and the world around us. While we can be saved by the resurrection power, the degree we stay stuck in carnal mindedness is the degree we live beneath the provision and privileges of the Heavenlies.This is evidenced by the degree we continue to allow exchange and equity as the basis for of well being. To examine ourselves on this, we should ask ourselves the following questions:

"To what extent do we ....."
     ".... seek our self esteem from our performance or otherwise how others see us?"
     ".... allow our emotions to be affected by the acceptance or rejection of others?"
     ".... worry?"
     ".... get our feelings hurt?"
     ".... want to use giving to get something we want?'
     ".... feel uncomfortable receiving from others and feel we need to repay them somehow?"
     ".... find fear or guilt controls us?"
     ".... seek our identity in our job?"
     ".... feel we get what we deserve and so should everyone else?"
     ".... say, 'that's not fair'?"
     ".... demand our rights?"

and I am sure there are many more questions like these. The point is that the degree we answer "yes" to these questions is the degree that we cannot face grace. Being different as a Christian not only means we have been saved through Grace (by faith), but that we also live in the power of that Grace (by faith). The power of Grace removes from us the principles of exchange and equity and instills in us a working reality of the fantastic gift that our well being has been established by God, not what we can get from others - it is certain, cannot be taken away or destroyed.

If we believe this, then why don't we use it to make sense of ourselves as we live in a world that is actually hostile to our well being, where exchange and equity is futile.