Last come first served.

Last come, first served.
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The justice of God is different from ours.

According to our notion justice means giving one his due.

In our court of justice we expect a judge to give a criminal punishment, which is his due.

Even if the criminal feels sorry for his crime and craves for forgiveness the judge would say, "My only duty is to punish the criminal and leave the innocent. I have no power to forgive."

But with God it is different.

If He should give us only our due, He can give us nothing but punishment for our sins.

The talents we have are free gifts of God, not earned by us.

Our life itself is a free gift of God.

God created us from nothing.

By 'us' I refer to all the human beings.

God has gifted every human being with talents and abilities.

But they vary a lot from person to person.

We have unequal physical talents, features, and abilities, plus diverse spiritual and intellectual gifts as well. 

What they all have in common is that they come as free gifts from God who didn’t have to create any of us.

In the parable of  vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) the employer hires people to work in his vineyard at various times of the day.

At the end of the day, some have only worked a few hours while others have worked all day long. 

At the time of paying wages the employer pays
everyone  the same standard day’s wage, regardless of how long they have worked.

He pays 'them their wages, beginning with the last comers and going back to the first.'

The workers who worked from the start  'were indignant with the rich man over their pay.'

Human justice may say, 'First come first served'.

But in Jesus' parable 'last come is first served'.

Just as the owner of the vineyard invited different people at different times making their working times vary, God has gifted different people with different talents, differing in number and degree.

What they have to do is to use the talents properly.

All the users  will get, irrespective of the quantity of their talents, the same reward, God.

Yes, God is the reward for our obedience to His will.

God's generosity is so great, that  He will give us what we don't deserve, His friendship and eternal life.

The only thing we have to do is to accept His beloved Son as our Saviour and walk in His path.

Further Jesus says, 'So it is that they shall be first who were last, and they shall be last who were first.' 

"And Jesus said to him, I promise thee, this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise."(Luke.23:43)

The above promise was given by Jesus to the good thief just before His death.

In His three years of public life the thief was the last person Jesus talked to, but the first person to whom He said, "this day thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

The last person to approach Jesus was the first person to be saved, that too just before His death!

Some would jokingly say," The good thief has thieved Heaven from Jesus!"

Equality may be human justice, but generosity is Divine justice.

"Must thou give me sour looks, because I am generous? " Jesus gives expression to His quality of generosity through the words of the employer in the parable of the vineyard.

God is generous towards us.

Are we generous to our neighbours?

Lourdu Selvam.