A Tale of Two Sons

Monday, October 04, 2010

Hi I’m Christin Ditchfield and this is Take It To Heart!

Jesus once told a story about a man who had two sons: He went to the first and said, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.”

The first son refused. “No, I will not,” he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing: “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” The other son answered, “Yes sir, I will, sir,” but he never went.

Jesus asked the crowd gathered around Him, "Which of the two sons did what his father wanted?"

"The first," they answered. (Matthew 21:30)

Jesus used this story to point out to the Pharisees – the pompous, pious religious leaders of the day – that God wants more from us than lip service. We can talk all we want, but our actions speak louder than our words. Do we really love our Heavenly Father and want to do His will? Sometimes our lips say yes, but our lives say no. Some of us need a reality check like this one – to help us get our acts in gear!

But there’s also another moral to this story. Remember that first son? The one who threw a tantrum and refused to do what his father asked him to? At the end of the day, he was the good guy – he was the obedient son! Because he had the courage to admit he was wrong, that his attitude – his heart – wasn’t right. He didn’t just feel bad about it. He determined to go and do the right the thing after all.

If you’ve been rebelling against your Heavenly Father lately... You know, it’s not too late to have a change of heart, to turn around. It’s not too late for any of us to be the loving, obedient children that, deep down, we long to be. Let’s get to work!

Excerpted from A Way With Words: What Women Should Know About the Power They Possess, Christin Ditchfield, Crossway Books, 2010.