My Favorite Parable

Which parable of Jesus is your favorite?  I have one. It is the “Parable of the Workers Paid Equally,” found in Matthew 20:1-16.  The parable can be summarized as different groups of workers started at different times (working more or less than their counterparts), but everyone was paid the same wages at the end of the day.

The reason why this particular parable is my favorite is because I am the worker that started in the middle of the day.  I was an adult with kids before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  Even though I didn’t work for God as a child, a teen, a college student, a newlywed or a new mother, I still receive the full wages of heaven at the end of my life.

I distinctly remember the feeling I had when I first read this parable.  It was relief that I hadn’t blown my opportunity with God. Of course I missed out on many blessings along the way, but I still get to share in the biggest reward of all.

Sometimes, I act like I have to work twice as hard to make up for lost time.  But this parable allows me to relax.  God is more interested in my future with Him than in my past without Him. This parable reminds me that we are never too old, too late, or too lame to come to Jesus and say, “Put me to work in your vineyard. I want you to be my boss.  I can’t wait to be paid in blessings.”

Matthew 20:12-14

‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ “But he answered on of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you.  Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’