“The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you;..."
Mt.20:12,13
Jesus is describing to His disciples what the kingdom of heaven is like, using a parable of a landowner hiring at the eleventh hour. Jesus is highlighting the scandal of God's mercy; all are treated the same. There is nothing we can do to earn more mercy from God.
This is good news for me. I entered the Church at age 35. I had a good number of years "standing idle in the market place" before I accepted the Lord's covenant. I am so grateful that those wasted years are not held against me.
But the pharisee within me asks, "Then why work at all if effort accounts for nothing?" That question misses the whole point. The blessing comes not from length of service but from simply being IN service. The wonder of this scandalous generosity of God is that it is NEVER too late. Any time is a good time to enter into the service of God. And if this be so, why delay it?
Lord Jesus, thank you for your scandalous mercy given to me. Thank you for your generosity towards me. Thank you for treating us all the same with your outrageous grace and love.
Little Flower, please pray for me.
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