Two of the most perplexing New Testament parables, for me, until the past few years, have been “The Prodigal Son” and “The Vineyard Laborers”.The reason is that neither of them is “fair”.
In Luke’s “Prodigal Son,” the son who did everything right (and with whom I always tried to identify) got sort of shoved aside when the disobedient son (admittedly penitent) finally returned home to his father and was lavished with celebrations and gifts. I would at times wonder, what good is it to do things right all the time? (Shown, btw, is Rembrandt’s “Return of the Prodigal Son”)
In Matthew’s “Vineyard Laborers,” the landowner hired workers at various hours throughout the day but paid them all the same wage at the end of the day. I would at times wonder, why not go to work at noon, then, if you could?
Of course I missed the point on both counts.
Neither grace nor mercy is fair. But both are inherent in God’s character. And if you think more about it, it’s a very good thing for us humans that things are the way they are with God.
If God were fair, rather than full of grace and mercy, humankind would have no chance. If God were fair, he’d judge us on our own performance. And of course, in that vein, we’re all failures and, moreover, incapable of extricating ourselves from our deficient plight.
Fortunately for us, God’s grace and mercy was bestowed on us in this way, according to Romans 5:8 as translated in The Message:
“God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.” (Italics mine.)
That is true grace. That is true mercy. Providentially for us, and as shown in the two parables, it isn’t fair.
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