Can you remember your first scar from favoritism? For some of us it was sitting on the bench waiting for that moment to shine on the field, just to prove that you were good enough to that coach that picked the strongest, "golden child", or the one that flattered him/her the most. That moment never came and you felt invisible and useless.
Or maybe it was in choir and just when you thought you worked so hard and it was your turn to receive that solo you've been hoping for, it was given to the person who somehow got all the past solos. You're spirit was crushed and all motivation to try again slipped out of the previous note you sang.
Whatever your story was, we've all been hurt because we didn't make the mark; the world's mark.
Our world is filled and thrives off of it. Since the fall, we've had to fight. Fight for attention, for the chance to prove our worth, and constantly getting burned by being overlooked.
Something I have been finding a lot of joy in lately is knowing that The King of the Universe doesn't have favorites. A relationship with Jesus Christ is both exclusive and inclusive, how beautiful is that!? We can have the intimacy and attention and yet it's the same intimacy and attention that any follower can have by being in relationship with him. There isn't a need to compete and prove to him that we deserve a shot, in fact we don't deserve a shot at all but because his son Jesus was THE favored one that favor was passed on to us after he took all of our sins to that rugged cross.
In Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable about the workers in the Vineyard. He tells the story of a landowner who goes out and hires men to work in his vineyard for the day and offers to pay them a denarius. Through out the day, he asks other men to work for the same price up until the last hour. After the day, he goes to give the workers their pay beginning with the last hired worker and gives them a denarius; the same amount the first hired workers were given. The first hired workers began to grumble and said, "These men who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day. " v.12 NIV
The owner replied, "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. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?" (emphasis added ) v.13-15 NIV
The salvation that we have received is the same salvation that your best friend has received despite how vastly different your testimonies are and the walks you have with Christ now! So, there is no need to compare yourself and your walk with Christ to your friends or their walks with Christ. Rejoice in the exclusivity of salvation and a relationship with Christ is the SAME for everyone but also rejoice in the gifts, talents, and responsibilities that you have been given by God and those of others! The inclusivity of a relationship with Christ is just as sweet!
When you are welcomed into the family of Christ, you don't need to prove anything! You also shouldn't compare yourself! There is no need, favoritism has ended. You have the favor of the King, and quite honestly, that is all I need. How about you?
Dear friends, I pray the beauty of this washes over all the pain you have felt in the past about not receiving favor and what emerges is a humbled view of what favor is and that if you are a follower of THE favored one; Jesus, you also have found favor with God. :)
