Life Isn't Fair! Hooray!
by A. A. Neale

Life just isn't fair! You hear it as a complaint, but I tell you the truth, it's the greatest news since sliced bread. Just listen:

"And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denaurius" (Luke 20:10, NASV).

No matter how hard or long the field workers labored, they all received a day's wages from the bossman in Jesus' parable of the laborers. The men who braved the heat of the day complained to the landowner, "Hey, that's not fair!"

"Yep, you're right, it's not fair," smiled the owner. "But didn't we agree on your wages? If I want to be more generous to others, why should you complain?"

Jesus' point is, "The last shall be first, and the first last" (v. 16). The Gentiles (that's most of us) can come into the Kingdom, too. You and I, my friend, are the latecomers. We got in on the Jews' good fortune, by the grace of God. We hopped on the wagon as it makes its last rounds.

Life isn't fair. Aren't we fortunate!?

-- A. A. Neale (neale@swirve.com), April 05, 2001