HIGHER VISIBILITY

Sunday: September 20, 2020

Matthew 20:6, 7 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

Many soccer teams have scouts who travel round the world identifying world class talent for recruitment. In the case of many players, this has proven worthwhile because without such scouting, their talents may never have seen the light of day.

What had the men in the Gospel been doing all day? Did they just turn up at the last minute to hit a jackpot or did they want to do less work for some pay? These were some of the thoughts that were going through my head as I read the Gospel today. Yet, their answer brought me back down to earth “because no one has hired us’. At that hour, it would make little sense to expect to find any work because the working day was almost over, yet they were still hanging around in the hope that something might happen.

Those same words also left an impression on my heart “because no one has hired us”. There were perhaps in the company of other workers, many of whom may have landed gigs and went on their way. So why had they not found any? Were they not well presented as workers? Could they not properly convince prospective employers of their potential or was it a case of “invisibility?” such that even in an open space, they could still not be found?

We might think this an unusual case but mind you, your presence does not guarantee visibility. Just because you are around, does not mean you have been found. Otherwise, the land owner would not ‘go looking’ for labourers nor would the widow who lost a coin ransack and sweep through her entire house in search for it.

Beloved, there are times when you have to be sought out and found. Found so that your impact and potential are revealed to the world. There was a time when the disciples said to Jesus “all men seek ye” and rightly so because he had been revealed to the world  and so was being sought. As you move about today, do say a prayer for “higher visibility’- that you may be found regardless of your location. For when you are found, then you can leave a mark.

#sly