“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one 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 NIV)
In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who went out and hired men to work in his vineyard. Some he hired early in the morning, some at noon and still others in the afternoon. However, at the end of the day, he paid the ones who were hired last the same amount as the ones who were hired first. The men who worked all day complained against the landowner, “These 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). Sadly, there are people today who still can’t handle the way that God chooses to extend His generosity to latecomers in the kingdom, and He wants to help them understand that His generosity knows no bounds.
God’s generosity knows no bounds.
Rising with the Son 