Matthew 20:16 “So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.” (NLT)

Jesus shared a parable of a landowner who hired workers to work in his vineyard at different times of the day (morning, 9 am, 12 pm and 5 pm). At the end of the day, the landowner decided to pay all the workers the same amount of money.

Even though workers hired in the morning agreed on a wage of one denarius for the day, they felt like it was unfair to receive the same payment as workers who only worked for one hour. Workers who were hired in the morning expected to be first and to earn more money because they worked for long hours. However, just like the kingdom of God, our actions or position in life does not give us an advantage in gaining eternal life because salvation doesn’t depend on us but only on Jesus Christ.

If we want to be first in the kingdom of God, then we have to let go of who we are and believe in God, especially during these hard times when everything seems to be unfair.

Believing in God means trusting that:

• Jesus is above every disease (Isaiah 53:5)
• Jesus is our provider (Matthew 6:26)
• Jesus is in control (Psalm 37:24)
• Jesus knows what we need before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8)

Let’s repent and commit ourselves to God so that we can always be first through Jesus Christ.