Keepers
of the Vineyard
By Susan Klein
“There was a
landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in
it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went
away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to
the tenants to collect his fruit.”
Matthew 21:33-34
I
had a neighbor who planted a lovely garden. She fenced it in to keep the
critters out, she cultivated the patch of ground with nutrient-laden soil, and
she carefully plotted where each plant should be placed for optimal growth.
Then she waited. Eventually, life’s demands took her attention away from her
garden. As time passed, the scorching sun withered some of the delicate new
shoots, while weeds choked out others. By harvest time, much to her dismay,
most of the plants had perished and those left bore little or no fruit.
In
the parable of the tenants, Jesus uses a story about a vineyard to convey His
underlying thoughts to a group of religious leaders. God had entrusted His
precious Israel to these leaders, but they were not being good keepers. They
wanted to hoard His crop for themselves, not giving Him His due harvest. It was
His land and His crop, after all. We won’t even discuss how they treated those
who came to collect the crop!
If
Jesus were to speak this parable today, how might it apply to us? I believe we
are all keepers of the vineyard. God has planted a crop on this earth and He
will send His Son for the final harvest one day. What might be our reaction at that
time? Are we faithfully tending to the crop He has planted? Are we watering,
fertilizing and caring for that which He has entrusted to us? And what about
the beasts that would seek to devour the crop? Are we keeping the fence in good
repair to keep the offenders out? Or, have life’s demands kept us from properly
nurturing the tender young shoots that are springing up around us? Maybe it’s
all we can do to keep ourselves fed and taken care of. Perhaps we just feel too
old to garden anymore.
We
are all keepers of the vineyard. We’ve each been given a task to do. It may be
a small one, such as pulling weeds from a single row or giving an occasional
fertilizer treatment. On the other hand, it may be overseeing a large plot of
many thriving plants. Regardless of the task, let us be mindful to not get so
caught up in our day-to-day activities that we neglect those whom He has
entrusted to us.
GOING
DEEPER:
1)
Whom has God planted near you to be spiritually nurtured?
2)
Are you maintaining a healthy inflow from His Word to be able to put out for
others?
FURTHER
READING:
Susan is a We Women Bible Study Coordinator
and one of its teachers. She and her husband Mark enjoy tutoring and working
with inner-city youth.
