“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1).

Laboring In The Kingdom

Jesus taught in parables using familiar life circumstances to illustrate a heavenly truth. One such parable was about a man who hired laborers to work in his vineyard. The lesson of the parable is that the man hires men at different times of the day, and everyone receives the same wages. Jesus shows the mercy of God is open to all men no matter the time of life. It must also be noted that the hired men were expected to be laborers in the vineyard. These men were not hired to stand around.

T. C. Horton said, “You can measure what you would do for the Lord by what you do.” The kingdom of God is likened to a vineyard where men work to maintain and cultivate the vines. Many of Jesus’ parables involve laborers for the Lord. The parable of the sower shows a man spreading seed. In the parable of the two sons, they were told to work in the vineyard. The parable of the talents is where a Lord gave three servants different talents, expecting them to do their best with what they had. Jesus shows in all of these parables an expectation of doing something in the kingdom.

When a person examines himself to see how productive his life is in the grace of God, he need not look any further than what he is doing. James taught that faith without works is dead. Faith is seen in how a person lives and devotes his life to Christ. Abraham measured his life by what he did for the Lord. A man is “justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). We measure what we do for the Lord by what we do.

Laborers in the kingdom of God are expected to be workers in the kingdom of God. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the men were hired to work. If they stood around and did nothing, they would not be paid. Vineyards require labor to cultivate and produce the fruit for harvest. The kingdom of God is the vineyard, and the Christian must work diligently in the kingdom. Through the grace of God, the child of God is part of the divine vineyard. The Father wants His children to show their faith by showing their faith. Passive and inactive faith does not fit the model of the vineyard of the Lord.

Matthew Henry said, “Until we are hired into the service of God, we are standing all the day idle.” The need for the hour is to be enlisted into the vineyard of the Lord. Remaining faithful to the purpose and design of the vineyard is for the individual to do the best they can when they obey the gospel of Christ but work they must. Everyone has different talents to work in the kingdom. All men will be judged by the blessings God has given them to do what they can as laborers in the vineyard. Be busy in the kingdom and, above all things, work – the harvest is coming.