“For the Kingdom of Heaven is like the landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the normal daily wage and sent them out to work.
“At nine o’clock in the morning he was passing through the marketplace and saw some people standing around doing nothing. So he hired them, telling them he would pay them whatever was right at the end of the day. So they went to work in the vineyard. At noon and again at three o’clock he did the same thing.
“At five o’clock that afternoon he was in town again and saw some more people standing around. He asked them, ‘Why haven’t you been working today?’
“They replied, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“The landowner told them, ‘Then go out and join the others in my vineyard.’
“That evening he told the foreman to call the workers in and pay them, beginning with the last workers first. When those hired at five o’clock were paid, each received a full day’s wage. When those hired first came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day’s wage. When they received their pay, they protested to the owner, ‘Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.’
“He answered one of them, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair! Didn’t you agree to work all day for the usual wage? Take your money and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’
“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”
We usually think of this parable in terms of salvation -those who turn to Jesus in old age, even on death beds, enter heaven just like those who have loved Him all of their lives. And, of course, that's true; but, I don't think that is all Jesus is trying to teach us. He starts this with those familiar words, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like..." That means there is a Kingdom principle involved here. This is not just about who gets into heaven, it is about how the Kingdom functions.
I know people who are always trying to earn or cultivate God's favor in order to receive more blessing. It just doesn't work like that. God's interest is to conform us to the image and character of Christ. Because we are all at different places in our spiritual development, we require different treatment. Some people's most immediate need in order to go deeper with God is to experience His generosity in order to learn trust, some need to experience His mercy in order to learn forgiveness, some need an extra measure of grace to learn to not judge, some need trials to learn patience -you get the picture.
None of this has anything to do with His favor or His fairness. God gives us what He knows we need, not what we think we deserve. And in this process, sometimes things get all topsy-turvy -things seem out of whack. Sometimes God's perspective is so radically different than ours that He seems unfair. While God is constantly giving what we need instead of what we want, and working for the good of those who love Him, from our perspective it looks as if the first are coming in last and the last are coming in first.
So, how should we respond when life (and God) seems unfair? What can we do if we don't like what we are experiencing? Obviously, we can't manipulate God; and we can't earn His favor; and we can't coerce Him into doing what we want instead of what He knows is best. So, the only right response is cooperate and dig in and learn from Him. In all circumstances there are important lessons to be learned.
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