Last week I attended a women’s conference with my mom. We got there at the last minute and the only available seats were at the back. Not the ideal place to see and hear everything but it had to do. After the presentations the buffet was surprisingly opened right behind us and suddenly the first were last and the last were first. It was such a powerful first hand experience of
“The last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16). God’s economy and reason work differently than ours.

If we read the story leading up to this statement it gives us a better idea what is going on with God’s reasoning. The story (Matthew 20:1-16) is about vineyard workers who get paid the same no matter what time they started their labor. And the workers who have labored the whole day and get the same pay as the ones who started late in the afternoon are complaining. I used to see this unfair, too. Why on earth would the master pay everybody the same?

The logic behind this is fair: there is plenty of grace for everyone. The workers who started early got what they had been promised to receive. Grace upon grace. The ones that came in later got what they needed: grace upon grace. How could we complain about God showing each and every one of us grace upon grace? How could we complain that the others got it easier? None of us earned it and never will. It’s all about God’s grace. Give everyone what they need, that’s God’s economy.

I kind of like it myself. How about you? Tell us about your encounters with God’s economy! Tell us about your grace experiences!

Gracious God,
Bless us according to your will!
Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen