Read
“‘Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Matthew 20:15-16
Reflect
Today’s scripture tells a story that some people might not think is fair. Here’s what it would look like today.
Stan is building a house and needs workers to help him, so he goes down the road at 6 a.m. and finds where some day laborers are waiting for work. He gets 10 guys to help him, and they all agree to work for 12 hours at $20 an hour — $240 for the day.
Three hours later he finds that he needs some more workers, so he goes back down the road and finds some men still standing there. This time, they don’t agree to a dollar amount. Stan simply promises to pay them whatever is fair. Two more times, Stan does the same thing — at noon and 3 p.m. Again, Stan promises a fair wage for the remaining hours.
Finally, 11 hours into the job, at 5 p.m., Stan goes to get a few last workers. Again, he promises a fair wage for the one hour the men will work.
At the end of the day, Stan settles the accounts. For the men who agreed to work 12 hours, he pays them the promised $240. Then the men who worked nine hours step forward. Stan also pays them $240. He does the same for the men who worked six and three hours — $240 for each man.
Finally, the handful of men who only worked one hour come to get paid, and Stan gives each of them $240.
If you were a 12-hour worker, how would you feel? After all, you worked through the heat of the day for your money, while someone else came in at the very end and received the same amount. That doesn’t seem very fair, does it?
But the first workers were not cheated. They received exactly what they had been promised. The surprise is that the later workers received far more than anyone expected.
That is how grace works. It does not cheat the faithful. It simply gives more mercy than anyone deserves.
Whether you turn your life over to the Lord as a child, or as an old man on your deathbed, you are still promised the eternal reward of everlasting life in Heaven. That does not mean anyone should wait. None of us is promised another day, and grace should never be treated like something we can schedule for later. It is always better to trust the Lord sooner rather than later.
But no matter when someone truly trusts their life to Christ, they will receive the same reward as every other Christian throughout time — a place with Jesus in the life to come.
That can be hard for us because we like to compare. We notice who worked longer, who struggled more, who showed up earlier and who arrived late. But God’s kingdom is not built on comparison. It is built on His goodness.
Today, take comfort in knowing that if you’ve received Christ into your life, you have a place with Him in His kingdom. And when you see His mercy poured out on someone else, even someone who came late, remember that His generosity toward them has taken nothing away from you.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
