The rejection of Jesus was the ultimate, tragic love story. Jesus puts the question to his audience: “What then will the owner of the vineyard do?” It is here that human logic would answer, “God will destroy his ungrateful and violent enemies. Their arrogance and selfishness deserve punishment."
Yet the essence of the Gospel is that even with the crucifixion of Jesus, God is still the God of mercy and forgiveness. It is an astonishing revelation and an overwhelming and extravagant response to human sin that God never ceases to love us. Even great evil cannot exhaust God’s mercy, and sinners who repent and return to God are welcomed.
If the Gospel seems too good to be true, it is when we really need this kind of second chance that we begin to understand the depth of God’s love for us in Jesus. He willingly underwent rejection and death on a cross, not just for his friends but also for his enemies, so that no one could doubt God’s unconditional love.
This love is available to us at every moment of our lives, no matter what we have done or how far we have distanced ourselves from God. Imagine how rich our lives can be if instead of resisting this love we opened our hearts to it. This is the joy of the Gospel.
--Pat Marrin
Source of images: James Janknegt, The Wicked Tenants, https://bensternke.com/repenting-is-easy-and-hard/
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