Our God can do everything by Himself; He turns every impossible thing into the possible. But still, He calls us to do some things on His behalf. God can part the Red Sea without anyone’s help, but He won’t do anything until Moses raises his staff and stretches out his hand. Paul met Jesus on the way to Damascus. To heal his blindness, God could have sent angels or given Him another vision, but no, He wants the frightened Ananias to go to Paul to heal him. Likewise, God needs some people to do His work. He hires men to do His work. Let’s explore what God expects from the hired men.
Who are the hired men? Hired men are those people who get paid for helping the master. They are hired so that the Master can entrust things to these hired men without any worry. We are all hired men of God. We are hired to serve our brethren.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” John 10:11-13
Jesus is a good shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. However, His concern is that the hired hand won’t do the same. Jesus hired Peter to feed His lambs, take care of His sheep, and ensure that they are well-fed. Jesus has taught us that there is no greater love than laying down our lives for our brethren. Hence, if we are a hired hand, we need to be ready to lay down our lives for them.
Remember that the hired hand was good until a wolf came for the sheep. If we are looking after sheep, it is certain that we will encounter wolves and lions. It is the duty of the shepherd to take care of this danger. David did the same; he fought with lions and bears to save his sheep. Now, the question is, didn’t the hired hand look at the job requirements when the good shepherd hired him? If we are sure that we are a hired hand of God, will we save God’s sheep from wolves and lions? Will we jump between the danger and the sheep and fight to save the flock of God?
Peter was assigned the job to take care of God’s sheep and lambs. When Jesus asked him, “Do you love me?” he accepted all the norms and agreed to the job. But later, when God showed him the creatures and animals He would entrust to him, he called them unclean. He regarded the Gentiles as unclean, being reluctant to serve them and having difficulty accepting the fact that Gentiles were also part of his flock.
Are we, as hired hands of God, considering the flock impure? Do we look down on His people and take advantage of them? Are we considering the flock of God as fools, untouchables, and powerless? Remember, the flock may not be strong enough to defend themselves, but the one who hired us will surely hold us accountable.
But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Mathew 20:13,14
In this parable, a landowner hires men to work on a vineyard at different times. They all agree to work for him for a denarius. But when the landowner starts to pay equally to all the hired men—those who were hired first and those who were hired last—even if the last man worked for only one hour, they were all paid the same. They all grumbled against this landowner.
In this situation, the hired hand worked properly, but his aim was the pay. He did not care much about anything other than the payment he received. He just wanted to earn more than his fellow worker. Are we working in God’s vineyard just for payment? Will we be envious of our fellow worker who gets more payment irrespective of the work he did? Remember, we are hired to work for the master who bought his vineyard or flocks with His own blood. He regards these things as precious. If we are hired to look after these precious things, will we not be handsomely paid?
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ Luke 10:34, 35
This verse is from the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. Here, the Good Samaritan treats the wounded man. Since he can’t be around him at all times, he hires the innkeeper to take care of him. He even pays him two silver coins in advance to look after the man. The interesting thing is that the Samaritan man expects the innkeeper to spend money from his own pocket to take care of the man. He assures the innkeeper that he will reimburse any extra expenses that may come up in caring for the wounded man.
We are hired by God to take care of some wounded brothers and sisters. God has already bandaged the wounds; he has already given the person first aid. But he expects us to treat them more so that the person can stand on his own. For that purpose, he has already given two silver coins. He entrusted us with his gifts and talents so that we may take care of the people he entrusts to us. But the question is, are we ready to spend extra to take care of the wounded man? We may be spending money, time, or our health to help the wounded person that God entrusted to us. But remember, God promised to reimburse it all when he returns.
The crucial question we must reflect upon today is: Are we truly the hired workers of God? If so, then what type of hired worker do we resemble? Are we the ones who flee and abandon the flock at the sight of wolves and lions? Are we mere hired hands seeking only payment from God? Are we the hired hands who view God’s flock with disdain? Or are we the hired hands willing to dip into our own resources to care for the sheep entrusted to us?
We find ourselves entrusted with our fellow arrows when we are placed in the QUIVER OF GOD.
May God bless you all.