daily spiritual reflection - apr. 20

BIBLE READING FOR THE DAY: 

The Parable of the Tenants

 ¹ And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. ² When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. ³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. ⁶ He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' ⁷ But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' ⁸ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this Scripture:
 "'The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone;
¹¹this was the Lord’s doing,
   and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

~Mark 12:1-11~

THOUGHT: 

One of the (many) amazing things about Jesus is his constant focus on teaching everyone within earshot about God. This passage is from just days before Jesus' crucifixion, and still you don't find him saying things like, "Not today guys. I've got a lot of stuff on my mind. I just need some 'me time'.", which would have been completely understandable and within his rights when you think about the unimaginable pain and humiliation he was about to suffer. Yes, this parable is a hard one to read/hear, especially for the Jewish leaders of his day, but how kind and gracious it was for him to continue teaching and lovingly correcting those around him so that they could have a better understanding of God and his character.

One thing that stands out to me about this parable is the horrible actions of the tenants, especially given that the land they are beating and killing people for is not theirs. The tenants didn't plant the vineyard. They didn't put up the fence, or dig the pit, or build the tower. Somehow the tenants have forgotten that they are stewards of the land they live on and not the owners. Greed, fear of losing their possessions, and possibly a false sense of "ownership" hardened their hearts and turned them against their landlord.

If God made this earth and all the creatures living in it, then he is the one who has ultimate ownership of it and everything in it. We, then, are all recipients and stewards of the time, bodies, gifts, and talents he's given us. The problem arises when we, like the tenants in the parable, forget this and begin to live as if we are protecting what's "ours" and trying to get more rather than living as if we are humble stewards of a life we have been graciously given. Too often I find that I am more like the tenants in this parable than a humble steward. I let fear, and greed, and an attitude of stinginess drive the decisions I make rather than the knowledge that all I have was given to me by a gracious and loving God.

The parable ends with the murder of the land owner's son and the land owner avenging his son by destroying the tenants. If I am like the tenants in this parable and God is like the landowner, then this ending would be pretty discouraging for me, to say the least. But God is unlike the landowner in that instead of destroying the sinners, he destroyed the power of sin through the death and resurrection of his son. This is good news, because not only has God told us how we should live, but he has given us all that we need in order to live that way.

CHALLENGE:

Think and pray about areas of your life that may be labeled "yours". These areas could be anything from time, decisions about your future, money, talents, your body, etc. Anything that comes to mind, ask God to help you to view them as a gift rather than a possession. Ask him to help you become a better steward of those gifts. Learning to be a better steward sometimes involves asking another person who is older and wiser to hold you accountable and show you how to be a better steward of your life. If this is something you feel that you should do, ask God to bring people in your path who can help you in this and be on the look out for his answer!