When I was in school and teams were chosen, I was one of those people who was always picked last. I usually ended up deep in the outfield, where I could do little to no harm.
It reminds me of a parable Jesus told about a landowner who went out and hired workers to harvest his grapes. In Israel, the grape harvest usually happened in August, which also was the start of the rainy season.
Thus, the foremen always were watching for rain, which could destroy the crops. In the morning if a foreman saw that rain was coming, he quickly went to the town square and gathered workers for the harvest. If the skies became even more threatening, he returned and hire more workers. This continued until a foreman had all the workers he needed.
In the story Jesus told, the landowner first went and hired some workers in the morning. Then he hired more workers at noon. He also hired some at 3 p.m. And finally, he hired some at 5 p.m.
He promised those who were hired in the morning a day’s wage. But those who were hired later received the same wages as those who had worked all day. Of course, the people who had been working the longest complained, because they thought it was unfair.
But the landowner said, in effect, “Hey, what did I promise you? A day’s wage. And I gave it to you. It’s my money, and I’ll pay as I please. It’s for me to determine how it should be given out.”
Jesus concluded the story by saying, “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last” (Matthew 20:16 NLT).
To understand why Jesus told this parable, let’s consider the background for a moment. Jesus had previously met with a very affluent and powerful young ruler. But apparently, he also was empty. He came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16 NLT).
Jesus, being God, saw this young man’s heart and knew that what possessed him were possessions. Therefore, Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (verse 21 NLT).
But the man went away sorrowful, because he was unwilling to let go of any of his things. So, he left Jesus.
Peter, who had been listening in on this conversation, said to Jesus, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” (verse 27 NLT). In other words, “What’s in it for us?”
Jesus told him, “Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then” (verses 29–30 NLT).
I think there will be some big surprises in Heaven. Many of the people we expected to see there won’t be there, and many of the people we never expected to see there will be there. So, we must be very careful about becoming self-righteous. If we start asking God to deal with us on the basis of personal merit, we’ll be in big trouble.
In Jesus’ story of the prodigal son, the younger son went out and dragged the family name through the mud, consorted with prostitutes, threw away his fortune, and shamed his father and his family. But one day he came to his senses and returned home. His father ran to greet him, smothered him with kisses, and then threw a big party. It was a great celebration.
Meanwhile, the prodigal’s older brother was working in the field. When he heard the commotion, he wanted to know what was going on. And when he found out that his younger sibling had returned home, he didn’t rejoice. Instead, he was angry and jealous.
The same can happen with us. We may see God bless someone in a tangible way and think it isn’t fair. Or maybe God begins to bless and use a certain individual, and we say, “Lord, wait a second! I’ve faithfully served you for all of these years. Then this Johnny-come-lately pops up, and you’re using him and blessing him. It’s not fair. I’m so much more godly than him. I’m more committed than him. And most of all, Lord, I’m so much more humble than him.”
The fact is that we should rejoice that God is being glorified and the Gospel is being preached. I think someone who exemplified this was Pastor Chuck Smith. He took on the role of a servant to help the Harvest Crusade ministry become a reality. I remember telling him, “It’s a great quality that you have always given an opportunity for others to be used by God, and you were willing to stand back and let it happen.”
He was always willing to push others forward because his goal was to see God glorified. Think of what would happen if we all were to take that attitude. We should be able to rejoice when God is working in someone else’s life. And we need to guard against petty jealousy and rivalry, which we can so easily fall into.
Referring to the body of Christ, the church, the apostle Paul wrote, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad” (1 Corinthians 12:26 NLT).
So, if God lifts up one of us and blesses us, we should rejoice. God is getting glory.
Maybe you think your life isn’t really making a difference or that what you have offered to God doesn’t mean that much.
What you need to do is be faithful with what God has called you to do. We all have gifts. God is interested in quality, motivation and faithfulness. He will hold each of us accountable for what he has called us to do with our lives. And we all will stand before him on that final day.
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