A few days ago when I was with my 3 grandchildren, I shared with them the story from Matthew 20 about the laborers in the vineyard.\u00a0 I told them the story in slightly different words.\u00a0 I said what if you went out to work on the farm and at 8am one of you started your job, later in the day around noon one of the others came and started to work, and finally at 4pm the last one showed up to work.\u00a0 After 5pm, the farmer came out to pay all of you and you all received the same pay.\u00a0 My oldest said that\u2019s not fair and I would be mad if I was the one that started working first.\u00a0 I said it doesn\u2019t seem fair to us but it is \u201cmercy\u201d exemplified in the greatest way.\u00a0 When I then explained, what if we are talking about being saved?\u00a0\u00a0 She said, \u201cOh that is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a hard concept for us as humans to wrap our minds around.\u00a0 Our thought process is about self.\u00a0 But every time I read this scripture my heart is so overwhelmed that we serve a God that has such great mercy.\u00a0 I\u2019m so very thankful that God\u2019s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts above our thoughts.\u00a0 I have had family members that spent 75 years of their life ignoring God and his plan of salvation and then at the last hour they realized they needed a Savior.\u00a0 Did God say \u201cNo I\u2019m sorry it is too late, you should have come earlier when you had years to serve me\u201d?\u00a0 No, He did not.\u00a0 In fact, it was quite the opposite: He just said welcome home, my Child.<\/p>\n
Salvation is a gift of God.\u00a0 We could never do enough to earn it.\u00a0 This scripture has given me much hope over the years, to know that as long as the person is alive, they can still ask God to save them.\u00a0 It does not matter if you have made wrong choices all your life and you have suffered the results of those and you are at the bottom of the barrel, God will still say \u201cYes!\u201d if you will just offer yourself to him.\u00a0 I know people do not easily forgive or forget but God loves with an everlasting love and is benevolent in all His ways.\u00a0 I love the mercy and grace of God and that He overshadows me with these.\u00a0 No wonder, He said the last shall be first.<\/p>\n
Matthew 20:1-16\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n 1 <\/sup><\/em><\/strong>For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.<\/em><\/p>\n 2\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.<\/em><\/p>\n 3\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,<\/em><\/p>\n 4\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.<\/em><\/p>\n 5\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.<\/em><\/p>\n 6\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?<\/em><\/p>\n