Are you a hireling or a son? In his famous sermon about the good shepherd
Jesus contrasts the good shepherd with the hireling. When a wolf attacks the flock the cowardly
hireling abandons the sheep and runs for his life. However the son risks his life by running
forward and putting himself in danger between the sheep and the wolf. These are the two choices we have in our
relationship with the Lord. We can serve
the Lord like an employee or like a member of the family.
The employee does only what he has
to do. He arrives for work just before
his shift begins and clocks out as soon as the numbers on the clock turn over
at the end of the day. He does exactly
what he’s required to do and no more. It
was in this same spirit that the lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” He didn’t ask in sincerity wanting to truly learn
but because he served God like an employee.
As an employee he wanted an detailed definition of “neighbor” so he
could fulfill the commandment exactly without doing any extra, unnecessary work.
The son, on the other hand, is a
member of the family. He never clocks
out and goes home. He’s on call all the
time. He works gladly because he loves
his father and his father’s house. He
needs no job description because he considers his job to be anything that needs
to be done. It never enters his mind to
ask, “Who is my neighbor?”
This world is our Father’s world. Everything and everyone we see belongs to him. Our only choice is how will we live. Will we live as small-minded, petty employees
continually saying, “That’s not my job.
She’s not my neighbor. I’m on my
break right now.” Or will we live as sons
and daughters of the owner who are always gladly about our Father’s business.
