One of my favorite Old Testament bible stories is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The events are told in the book of Daniel, chapter 3, and begins with King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who has a gigantic golden statue created in his honor.  The people of the kingdom were told to worship the statue.  Any who did not, would be thrown into a blazing furnace. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were faithful followers of the one God, and word came back to the king that they would not bow down.  When the king called them to task for this, they said “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, our God is able to deliver us from it. But even if he does not, we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3: 17-18)

The king had the men thrown into the fiery furnace, but when he looked into the furnace, he saw not only Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but also a fourth man, all unharmed by the fire and he realized that their God had intervened.

The king ordered that the furnace be opened and out came three men, not even a hair on their head singed. The king was amazed and declared: “Praise be to your God, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.  Therefore I decree that any who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” (Daniel 3: 28-29). 

What do I love about the story?  I admire the faithfulness of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, men with strong faith, standing firm for the right. 

I am grateful we have a God we can trust.  Whatever “fire” we face- God will stand beside us- and that gives me hope and courage. 

I am encouraged that the three men’s faith and the faithfulness of God- changed the mind of a king. 

But there is another message in this story.  After God protected the three men, though King Nebuchadnezzar changed his mind about their God, the king’s temperament and character did not change.  The king who would throw a man in the furnace for not worshiping a golden image, became a king who would cut a man to pieces and destroy his home, if they criticized God.  I pray that for us, in our encounters with God, we become a changed people, changed from a people of selfish words, fiery furnaces and threats and into a people of love, kindness, generosity and peace.

Jesus was a wonderful teacher; he taught by telling stories or parables. One thought-provoking parable starts like this:  The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
 
The men who were hired at daybreak negotiated their wage for a full day’s work, and so the men went to work.
 
After discovering that more workers were needed, the landowner went out again – a second, third, fourth, and then a final time, at the 11th hour.  He found men standing idle, and hired them, telling them simply that he would pay a fair wage.
 
How is the kingdom of God like the landowner? The landowner continued to seek workers all day.  He didn’t say, “come this morning, or you’re out of luck.”  The landowner was persistent in finding workers, just as God is persistent in seeking us, even to the end of our days. 
 
Jesus continued and described the payment of wages.  Those who arrived last were paid first and received a full day’s wage.  Then the men who came at 3:00, at noon, at 9:00am, and finally those who began at daybreak.  And to everyone’s surprise, they each received a full day’s wage.   The men who were hired at daybreak were paid last, and probably anticipated that they would get extra pay.  They were disappointed when they received the same payment as the others, even though they had worked more hours than anyone else. 
 
And we would probably agree with them.  To be fair, those who worked more hours should receive more pay! 
 
It is hard to understand the parable of the vineyard owner…who paid everyone the same…no matter how long they worked.  
 
And Jesus confuses us even more when he continues: “it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” 
 
When his disciples protested, Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  And that, friends, reveals the meaning of the parable of the rich vineyard owner.
 
It doesn’t matter how long and how hard we work. Nothing we do will earn God’s favor.  God favors us because God is generous.  God’s economic plan for each of us?  Grace.   With God, all things are possible. 
 
If you have accepted Christ and been a Christian your whole life, if you trust in God’s grace working in your life, that is a gift.
 
If you came to Christianity later in life, you also have the gift of God’s grace.
 
If you are still seeking, God also seeks you.  God invites you to take the job, promising to treat you fairly and generously. When you are ready, you can also receive God’s gift of grace.  Grace is God’s economic plan for you.
 

If you enjoy sharing meals with others, it is likely that you’ve had this conversation a time or two:  “Want to come over for dinner?”  “ Sure!  What can I bring?”  “Oh, nothing, just bring yourself.”

Imagine that same conversation with God:  “Come, be part of my kingdom!”  “Sure! What can I bring?” “Oh, nothing, just bring yourself.”

Sometimes, when people think about connecting with God- maybe by going to church, they hesitate.  Maybe they are worried that God will reject them, or the church will, maybe they think the church has nothing to offer them or they have nothing to offer the church. Or maybe they think “people who go to church should be good people, but they are no better than me!”

But the real truth is that the people who are part of a church aren’t there because they are so good - they are there because they know they are not good enough and they want to accept God’s gifts, God’s love, and God’s forgiveness, to become better. All God asks us to bring is ourselves.  God will provide the rest. 

About 20 years after Christ, the members of the church of Corinth began squabbling about who was most important.  In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul wrote to the church, and I will paraphrase here:  There are different kinds of gifts, but all the gifts come from God, and none of them is more important than the other. There are different kinds of service and of working, but in all of them, the same God is served.  God may give the gift of wisdom to one, the gift of knowledge to another, of faith to another, healing to another and compassion to still another.  But all these gifts come from God, and all these gifts together serve God and the common good of the people of God.

What gifts does God provide?  Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, compassion, certainly. But if you look at your life and think “all I have to bring are my doubts, my fear, my problems, and my pain.”  Those are also gifts from God.  As you share your doubts and fears, you encourage others to examine their faith. Your pain, your brokenness and your healing can be a witness to others of God’s grace.  Your story of survival might be just what someone needs to make it through the day themselves.

In God’s church, each person is valued.  Each one of us, at every stage of our life, no matter our circumstances or our experience, receives a gift from God and has a place in God’s kingdom.  All we need to bring is ourselves.