February 21
When God Saves
“They likewise received every man a penny.” —Matthew 20:10
Read Matthew 20:1-16
The picture presented to us in our Scripture reading is that of labourers standing at the market place waiting to be hired. We read that individuals were hired at different times of the day. And while it seems unfair to us, each of the labourers received the same wages. However, this was not unfair, for the owner of the vineyard paid his workers the amount they had agreed on when they were being hired. Of course, the Lord Jesus was seeking to convey a deeper meaning by this parable.
The Lord calls His people at different ages. Some are called during childhood, others when they are much older. If someone is converted at the age of fifteen, they may consecrate a long life unto the Lord’s service. When a person is changed at seventy, they have far fewer years to live for the Lord. And yet, both receive the same reward, namely, heaven. The Lord makes no distinction here. Whether a per-son is old or young, whether they have sinned greatly or less, whether they are of the upper or lower class, all of mankind are sinners before the Lord.
In our estimation, however, there is a big difference between people. If a person is converted at fifteen he has less sin to mourn over than a person who is converted at seventy. The Lord can save at every age, but many believe that God saves most of His people during their youth. Generally speaking, I think this is true, for older people are not easily impressed by God’s Word.
Yet we should not despair, but stand ready to be “hired,” which means that we should prayerfully seek to approach God. All the labourers in our parable were ready to go to work. None of them answered the owner of the vineyard negatively when he would hire them.
In what way does the Lord seek to engage us?
This devotional was taken from “The Time of Your Life” a daily devotional published by the Youth & Educational Committee of the FRC. To order a printed copy of this book, contact: bookorders@frcna.org.