“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” Matthew 19:30
Huh, what the hey? When I read this statement on its own I
honestly don’t know what it means; it could mean a great deal of things. To read it on its own it hardly seems
fair. The parable of the vineyard gave me clarity. I’m going to paraphrase it in the
interest of keeping things shorter. Please
read Matthew 20 on your own to know the exact wording.
Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who went
out in the morning to hire some day laborers to work his vineyard. He agreed with them on a set amount that they
would earn at the end of the day’s work.
They went straight to work.
He hired more men in need of work at different hours of the
day; and they agree that rather than a set wage, the laborers will receive
whatever is right.
At the end of the 12 hour work day the landowner instructed
that the laborers be paid; beginning with the last to start work, and ending
with the first to start work. The
laborers that had worked for only one hour earned the same wage, as the laborers
that had worked for 12 hours.
Those laborers who thought that they toiled longer felt
entitlement to receive more, and were angered that the landowner would reward
them equally.
The landowner answered them that he was doing no wrong, they
had an agreement and it is lawful for him to do as he wishes with his own
things. He basically told them that they
were evil; and even though they worked really hard, I’m pretty sure that they
weren’t to be asked to come back.
“So the last will be the first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are
chosen.” Matthew 20:16
If we are truthful we can admit that it’s easy to become
resentful when someone who we deem underserving receives the same reward that
we do. That’s when we need to pray to
ask that be taken from our minds and our hearts.
Sometimes “religion” makes us feel entitled. Just because we lead a “holy” life, are very
involved in our religion and know the bible inside and out; doesn’t give us
entitlement to get more, or even to get into the kingdom.
What entitles us to the kingdom is God's grace it's not our due. It's our faith not our works. It’s being grateful for what we have and not
begrudging others for what they have. It’s
loving, the unlovable. It’s reaching,
the unreachable. It’s being truly
excited to know that the person, who has been down and out and who has done the
unforgivable, is forgiven and that they will be receiving the same reward that
we will.
The reward is the same whether we’ve known the Lord all our
lives, or only at the end of our life. The reward is heaven!
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