25/08/2026
Do you ever find yourself resenting God's grace when He extends mercy to people you think deserve it less than you do?
It is easy to fall into the trap of spiritual comparison, believing that our years of faithful service should earn us special privileges or a higher standing before God than those who repent later in life. In a first-century marketplace, a landowner hired laborers at different times throughout the day, sending some into his vineyard at dawn and others at the very last hour of the afternoon. When evening came, those who had worked through the scorching heat were offended when the generous landowner paid the latecomers the exact same living wage he had promised them. Jesus told this parable to remind us that salvation is a gift of God's sovereign grace, and we should celebrate with boundless joy whenever a lost soul comes into the kingdom, no matter how late in life they turn to Him.
"And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.' But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong... Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?'" (Matthew 20:11-13, 15, NKJV)
Celebrate the boundless mercy and grace of our heavenly Father. Walk humbly with a community of believers by joining our church family for worship this Sunday at the Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ.
