“For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.” — Matthew 20:1&2
As we look at the kingdom of heaven today, we look at the church. In these verses, the Master was recruiting laborers to work in His fields for His kingdom. He went out early in the morning and found workers willing to work for a denarius. So, they began to work. Throughout the day, the Master continued to recruit more workers. He even recruited workers at the end of the day. At the end of the day the workers went to the Master to receive their wages. The Master gave every worker a denarius. This infuriated the workers who worked the whole day. They felt that it was very unfair that the late workers received the same wage they received even though they worked so little time.
Now we can all relate to that. In this world, things just don’t operate that way. But, we are not dealing with this world. The ways of the kingdom of heaven are not the same as the ways of this world. Until Jesus returns again, God will continue to add to the numbers of His kingdom. Up until the last day, He will continue to seek and to find. And until the last day, the members of the kingdom are called to work for the kingdom. It is just a fact that some will repent and believe in Jesus moments before His return. Does that fact make them any less worthy of the same payment we receive? We will all receive the same wage — eternal life in God’s kingdom.
May it never be said of us that we began to begrudge the work. May our work in God’s kingdom be seasoned with gratitude and grace. The fact is that we are all undeserving of the grace (wage) we will receive because of our faith in Jesus and our service in His kingdom. On that day when Jesus returns, may we be as happy for the new hire’s wages as we are for ours.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church