The Reversal of Yardsticks and Priorities

UV 3552/10000 The Reversal of Yardsticks and Priorities So those who are last ( in this world) shall be first ( in the world to come), and those who are first, last. Matthew 20 v 16 Life is not a race to be won but God’s grace to be availed. It is not about competing with others for a prize but completing our faith and our purpose in life. The eleventh hour faith worker who worked little is given the same wage of salvation as someone who toiled from the first hour. It is not our quantitative work but our qualitative commitment that wins the favour of God. Once we have God’s favour or grace, everything else will fall in place. If we do not have the favour of God, that implies that we are either ignorant of God or we chose to ignore Him. Then, we are pitted against God and His will for our lives. Hence, such a situation is like pushing against a mountain. The winner takes all is a very unjust premise that prevails in human affairs. If someone applies for a job interview along with hundreds of competitors and only he gets it and the others return empty handed, it is unjust. In the kingdom of God, no one returns empty handed. The Lord has a blessing for everyone. We cannot complain that someone got more than us even though he worked less or for less time or with lesser impact. It is the Lord who decides in His wisdom and justice who gets what and when. There is a reversal of the values and priorities of the world in the kingdom of God. Instead of complaining or being unhappy with our lot, we should be thankful and joyful with whatever the Lord has placed in our hands or in our lives. This is the secret of happiness, of having a pleasing attitude towards the Lord, of being contented. We should not be envious of either the wicked of this world or the righteous who seem more blessed than us. We should not drive our stakes too deep into the soil of the earth as if we are camping here forever. We should be ready to move to the heavenly kingdom at short notice.