To Each the Same

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" 'Those men who were hired last worked only one hour ... and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' " —Matthew 20:12

Bible Reading

MATTHEW 20:1-16

Devotional

You would get into a lot of trouble if you treated your employees the way this farmer did. He paid the people who worked for one hour just as much as those who had labored a full day—and a full day used to be more than eight hours.

Here Jesus was teaching us something about the kingdom of heaven (v. 1). He was not proposing a fair labor contract.

Christ was telling us that the latecomers ("the last") shall be frontrunners ("the first") in the kingdom. Indeed, the Gentile latecomers have replaced the Jewish frontrunners.

Jesus' story speaks especially to those of us who have been at work in the vineyard for some time. Some of us have "borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day." We worked hard. Of course we know that we were received into the kingdom by grace, but we are also aware that grace must produce fruits of obedience. We showed obedience. By now we have quite a record. Some fellow Christians regard us highly. We've acquired jobs as managers and supervisors. In fact, sometimes we wonder what the vineyard would look like if we had not been working in it from sunup to sundown.

Along comes someone new to the kingdom who isn't even dry behind the ears. This newcomer makes all the baby sounds of one who has just been born again. Do you know what the Master pays him? A denarius. And do you know what we old-timers get? A denarius.

Yes, grace produces obedience, and this obedience is also rewarded. But the Lord is now giving us a public relations lesson for kingdom workers. There is to be no envy and no pride of seniority. All of us must be deeply convinced that we are in this kingdom by grace. Without this conviction, we do not belong here at all.

And grace is still the opposite of merit.

REFLECTIONS

"The older I get, the more I realize it's all by God's grace." Are you finding this to be true? How do you keep the focus on God's grace and off your own merits?

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I can confidently say that "the older I get, the more I realize it's all by God's grace" and to me that is exciting. To know that I'm getting to a place in my life and walk with the Lord where I know that the things that I accomplish, the life that I've been given to live and the hope of Glory is all by the grace of God, not by anything that I've done. This story in scripture fits so well with a quote by Pastor and author, Paul Tripp: "Self-righteousness is about being more aware of and irritated by the sins of others than you are conscious of and grieved by your own."

Sadly, I used to like pointing out the faults in other people. I think its because I was repressing my true thoughts and feelings about my own shortcomings and sin. No one likes to look at themselves and realize, "man I'm really, in the grand scheme of things, no better than that person." Its a pretty intense feeling, to look at yourself and say, 'I've been working so hard and I deserve to be paid more than that newbie that just came in off the streets.' Only to then realize, 'but I was saved from the same thing, I was shown the same thing, and I was the same person they used to be and I am the same person they are now, just slightly more experienced and traveled.'

Realizing that your righteousness is not your own is the first step to understanding why God "pays" each of us the same wage for the work He has called us to do. I'll leave you with one more quote by the same pastor. "The reason Jesus calls us not to parade our righteousness before others is because we don't have any of our own! It all belongs to Christ." We need to remember that as we go through our days. Grace&Peace to each of you. Love you!