Ephesians 2:10 states, ” For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (NASB) For many people in my generation, it can be difficult to see how this verse applies to us. We have spent our lives working in the secular marketplace. We may have spent time volunteering in one way or another to support our local church; but, as far as attempting significant “good works” is concerned, most of us face the doubt and fear that we have wasted our opportunities to be a significant influence for Jesus’ kingdom.
Matthew 20:1-15 tells the parable of the landowner who went to the marketplace to hire workers for his vineyard. The workers agreed to work for one denarius, a day’s wage during that time. The landowner went back to the marketplace to hire more workers at 9:00 in the morning, noon and 3:00 in the afternoon. Finally, he went back at 5:00 in the afternoon, the eleventh hour, to hire additional workers. When it came to the end of the work day, at 6:00 PM, the landowner paid each worker one denarius, regardless of whether they started at 6:00 AM or 5:00 PM.
There are two key lessons to this parable. First, the only requirement of the landowner was that the workers be willing to work in his vineyard. I am sure that there probably were workers who gave up on finding work and left the marketplace before 5:00, but those who stayed and were willing to work were paid as if they had worked a full day. Second, the last workers hired stated that they were standing in the marketplace because nobody had offered them work, even though the landowner had been to the marketplace four times earlier in the day. Even though they had missed earlier opportunities, simply being available to work, even in the eleventh hour, was sufficient to be credited with a full day’s work.
In the kingdom of heaven, the only requirement is that we be willing to work in His vineyard. It doesn’t matter how many times we may have missed His call to come work. It doesn’t matter that we are in the eleventh hour of our lives. If we are willing to work in His vineyard, He will credit us with a full day’s work and give us a full day’s wage!