In today’s world, and sadly even among us Christians, there are three types of people: (Please note!!! Those of you who will listen to the homily at the bottom of this lesson will be better equipped to understand this lesson. So, delve into this highly edifying homily before you immerse yourselves in this Level UP lesson)
- Those who hide Christ and showcase themselves, ashamed to speak of Him.
- Those who hide themselves and reveal Christ, humbly pointing to Him.
- Those who use Christ to justify their sins and to gain the approval of the world.
Read the three texts below and determine which category the authors belong to.
Rainy day surfer
Of course you’re going to get wet, that’s part of the sport.
And yet, only the hard core surfers show up in the rain.
If your project is about making things better, organizing the disorganized, connecting the disconnected and building community, you shouldn’t wait until the conditions are ideal.
Broken systems need your help precisely because they’re broken.
We need you the most when it’s raining.
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The Storm-Weathering Servant
Of course, following Christ comes with trials—this is part of the spiritual journey. “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)
And yet, only those who have true faith—who trust not in themselves but in the Lord—persevere through difficulties. “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5)
If your mission is to reflect Christ’s light in a dark world, to bring order where there is chaos, to unite the scattered and to help heal the broken, you must not wait for the perfect moment. “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season.” (2 Timothy 4:2)
A world fallen in sin needs the light of Christ precisely because it is lost. The weary need your service not when it is easy, but when it is most difficult. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
God does not call us to comfort, but to courage through Him. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
The Church, the body of Christ, needs your faithfulness especially when the storm rages.
Will you be found working in the vineyard when the rain falls?
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Love is love
In the name of love, all will be saved.
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The parable of the vineyard workers from the bible.
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning, around 6 o’clock, to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage of one denarius, he sent them into his vineyard.
When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So, they went.
When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same.
And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.”
Around 6 o’clock, when evening came, the lord of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.”
When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage of one denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more for their twelve hours of labor; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”
But he replied to the ringleader, “Friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not make an agreement with me for one denarius? Take your denarius and go! I wish to give to this last one the same as I give to you. Is it not permissible to do what I wish with the things that are mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?”
So, the last will be first, and the first will be last.
(Matthew 20: 1-16)