The Lord has many bottles of wine, if He wants to save the best for last that is His prerogative.
20 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
There are many ways to interpret these parables and many interpretations can be valid, a picture is worth ten thousand words. However, we cannot change the picture. So remember, these men who came for the last hour, they were standing all day waiting to get hired and no one came to hire them. When I was a teenager I worked as some golf courses as a caddy. At the beginning of the summer you would hear that if you carry two bags and do two rounds of golf in one day you would make a very significant amount of money, multiply that by five times a week and you would make a lot of money for the summer. But then you go and you sit all day and don't get a single job. Or maybe you get one job but only with one bag. What do you think happens when someone gets up early goes to the golf club and sits all day waiting to get a job, you get nothing and so you go back home with 0? You think what a waste of time. It seems something is not right about that, it seems to me that the golf course should be required to pay you minimum wage for the day whether or not they send you out.
8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
As believers the gospel is the story of our salvation. There is no "platinum" salvation, or "gold" salvation. No one ever told you that there was a deluxe salvation compared to the regular run of the mill salvation. Also, some brothers and sisters will have 60 or 80 years in the Lord, speaking and preaching the word of God, while others get saved a year or two before they die. Imagine if our salvation were dependent on how many years in the Lord? Is that fair? Some Christians are born in developing nations, in abject poverty, and die in their twenties, some are born into totalitarian regimes where they were imprisoned and tortured for their faith, some died in car crashes or some other accidental death. In the grand scheme of eternity the difference between one year and one hundred years is really insignificant. The Lord has a purpose for each one of us, and the Lord will make a place in His body for each one of us. For some people playing in the NBA is the perfect job, for others it would be torture. Some people would love to be a rocket scientist, for others that would be torture. Each one of us will have the perfect place.
11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
Let's go back to my story about being a caddy. I would get there the same time as others who got to carry double bags for two rounds of 18 holes. They would be out on the course while I was sitting in the caddy shack. Both places are hot. Yes, they may be in the sun, but also in the shade and with the wind blowing. Yes carrying the bags is harder work than sitting, but at least when you go out you know you have a job and are going to get paid. In my experience I hated sitting on that bench and I really hated sitting there all day without getting a single job, to me that was by far the worst. The Lord asked them why they were there and it wasn't because they just woke up, or they just got dressed, no. They said they had been there all day but no one had hired them. So I think this is unfair. Working in the field in the sun is hard work, but in my experience sitting in the shack waiting all day to get hired is the worse experience.
13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
This last week some country singer living in a trailer released a song on Youtube, his name is Oliver Anthony and the song is North of Richmond and in one week it got 44 million views. A week later he released another song called "I want to go home" and in four days it got 4.4 million views. These numbers obliterate the Beatles, obliterate Elvis, etc. If you sell a million copies of a song it is said to go "platinum". Who ever heard of 44 million plays of a song in one week, the first week for your first song? Followed by a second song going platinum in one day?
Well you can argue that never would have happened had the music industry not been built up and the youtube platform been built up, and the internet helping things go viral. OK, so the guys who were there all day in the heat of the sun should certainly get some credit. But at the same time if you listen to these songs you realize Oliver Anthony was also going through some very tough times. All of that was in those songs and it resonated with many others. Also, what are you building up Youtube for, if not for this? Is this for Beyonce or someone into witchcraft or satanism? Or is it so that this man could sing his heart out as a testimony and a prayer?
Now if we read this the Lord tells us that what we are seeing happen is the Lord doing what He wills with what is His. What you and I need to do is get some eye salve. Do you belong to the Lord? If no, then that is the problem you need to deal with right now. If yes, then can the Lord do with you as He wills? If no, then that is the problem you need to deal with if yes, then amen, praise the lord!
To me, what I see with Oliver Anthony is that this is a fine wine that the Lord has kept on the shelf until He felt it was the perfect time to uncork it. It is His wine, if He wants to serve it right now that is His prerogative, for me I just want to enjoy it and say thank you Lord.