Press the arrow to listen to Hillsong Church sing “Here I Am” as you read today’s devotion about faithfulness.

Scripture
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went.

“The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” Matthew 21:28-31

Observation
We can be half-hearted and not even know it, for promises to do the work can  feel like actually getting the job done. We can show up at work, but leave a part of ourselves somewhere else. It may be in a fantasy of the future or a recollection from the past. Whatever the case, we don’t live up to the promises that we’ve made to the Lord.

The comfort in this little story from Jesus is that we have the space to change our mind and to still be considered diligent sons of our Father.

Application
When I reflect over my life, since my earliest days, there have been many times that while I’ve been “here” my will has been “there”, at some point in the past or the future. I have not been fully engaged in the present. God is only “near” if I am fully “here” for God lives in the eternal present. I can’t live “there” in the past or hankering for another future. I must work “here” living in the now, with my will fully wrapped around the context God has placed me in. And in the here and now God is near to me, as a Father working closely with his son.

Prayer
Father, today I fully embrace the present so that you may be present with me. I live today to do your will. Amen.