A Lesson From A Pair Of Shoes

I wanted a pair of shoes.
I was sixteen years old and had just gotten my first job.
I was thrilled to get my own paycheck and have my own work schedule.
I worked in a cheese shop that was found in most malls.

I had to wear a uniform…a denim jumper and red and white checked shirt.
I liked wearing the uniform since I never had to worry about what to wear to work.
I kept it clean and ironed and kept my shoes white, as they were supposed to be.

I learned about the various cheeses and how to wrap the cheese properly.
I learned which crackers to suggest for certain cheeses.
I learned how to store the cheese properly, especially at night when we closed the store.

This cheese shop also sold beef sticks.
The store was famous for them.
Every year on Labor Day, there was a telethon that raised money for muscular dystrophy.
This store was known for its large donation, which was tied to its beef stick sales.

The shoes I wanted to buy cost more than I usually spent on a pair of shoes.
I knew that I had to buy them with my own money, but cheese shops didn’t pay very much.
My birthday had passed; Christmas was months away; I needed gas money for my car.
My father made a deal with me.

If  I could sell twenty-five beef sticks in one day, he would buy the shoes.
If I failed to meet this outrageous quota, I would have to buy them myself.
He thought this would be impossible.
He didn’t know how determined I could be!

I kept my own little tally chart in the pocket of my uniform.
I worked long hours that day and by lunchtime, I had half the number I needed.
By three o’clock, I had sold twenty beef sticks.
By four o’clock, I had sold twenty-three.

One more hour to go and no customers came in the store.
Everyone was smart and was at home grilling their own Labor Day hamburgers.
The dream of the shoes was fading, since I knew I would probably not buy them myself.

At 4:45, a college student walked in.
She was leaving the next day to fly back to school.
She loved beef sticks and wondered if they could be brought on the plane with her.
Beef sticks required no refrigeration until they were opened, so the answer was “yes”.
She bought two!

The final sale was made at 4:55, five minutes before the store closed.
I had sold the outrageous number of beef sticks my father had determined.
I don’t think he ever thought I could do it.
I bought the shoes, and I honestly don’t remember them being very special.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9)

Everything about the acquisition of my shoes spelled W-O-R-K!
There was not a hint of grace.
Do this. Receive that!

This is how our economy works.
This is how our grading system in schools work.
This is NOT how God works!

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, “You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, “Why have you been standing around here all day long doing nothing?” “Because no one has hired us,” they answered. He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard.” When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going to the first.” The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came out and received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. (Matthew 20:1-11)

Before I understood God’s amazing grace, this parable made me angry!
The workers should have been paid according to the work they did…I thought.
They earned it: Do this. Receive that!

But that’s NOT the way God works.
God extends grace.
Receive this…even though you do not deserve it!

The thief on the cross was the recipient of this amazing grace.
After a life of sin, he recognizes who Jesus is, and asks Him to remember Him.
He simply came to Jesus in faith, asking for something he did not deserve.

That thief is all of us!
We are that needy and that desperate.
The thief received grace: Today you will be with Me in paradise.
The workers received grace.

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? So the last will be first, and the first will be last. (Matthew 20: 13-16)

I am so glad that God does not deal with me on a merit scale.
I am so glad that God does not keep a tally chart in His pocket.
I am so incredibly glad.

 

 

2 responses to “A Lesson From A Pair Of Shoes”

1. Me too!!!

   Reply

   • Janna,
     We are kindred spirits.
     Gina

     Reply