Matt 20:13   But he answered one of them, `Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?

This appears, at first sight, a funny parable. It's about men standing around in the town square being chosen to work at different times of the day. The funny thing about it is that Jesus has each of these men paid the same, whatever time of the day they were hired and for however long they had left to work in the day. But of course it is a parable about the kingdom or rule of God.

 

So what is the point of it? It is that whatever time in life God calls us, we all get the same payment or inheritance from Him. So if I come to the Lord at forty I get all the same resources He gave someone who came to him at twenty. Of course the earlier you come to Him the longer you have to play with and use those resources – but they ARE the same resources for each of us. God doesn't give any one of us less of His blessing because we come to Him later in life.

 

The salvation we receive from the Lord is a gift of mercy and grace. It is a gift of mercy because we didn't deserve it and there was no way you could twist His arm to give it to you. He just did, He just gave it freely. It's a gift of grace because you can never be good enough to earn it, so he just gives it to you anyway. All you had to do was respond to Him and receive it. When He called you ‘in the market square' all you had to go was respond and go with Him.