S179P8 – A life in parables: losing the kingdom
Mt. 21:42-44
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
The business model had been set, and his sons would take over from him one day. They were not his only employees, and they were not the only ones trusted in a management role, but everyone knew that the family business would be theirs eventually. Unfortunately, time would tell that these boys simply did not have what it takes to be business owners. Other members of the leadership team, however, greatly impressed the father with their ability to run things just as he did. They had learned from him, and he had noticed. When it came time for the father to exit the company, he gave the sons no more than they already had. Instead, he left his work as visionary and owner to those who had shown that they could fill those roles successfully.
There were two things that were important to the father. One very important thing was leaving the legacy of that family business to his sons. It had started with his father, who then passed on the business to him, and he dreamed that one of his boys would sit in his office and run things like he did. Unfortunately, the other important thing to the father was making sure that this business was left in capable hands, and his boys simply were incapable. They were meant to carry on the business, but they did not care for it as their father and grandfather did, and their work showed it. They could not be trusted with the work, so the prize that had been earmarked for them all that time was given to someone else who actually could be faithful.
God wants to trust his children with his own work. He places these great tasks in our hands and asks us to walk alongside him to complete them. Unfortunately, some of us simply will not understand how important this kingdom is, and we will not take it seriously. We will behave like those who cannot be trusted with that work. When that happens, God may take from us and give to someone else, leaving us without the fruit He wanted us to produce. His work will get done, and He wants us to help him, but He will not waste the work on those who waste their time and talents to the detriment of the kingdom. Father, keep us faithful to produce the fruit of your kingdom so that we preserve our place in it.