There once was a man who owned a large farm.
He went early to town to find workers. It was harvest season and he had far more work than workers for the day.
He arrived in the town square at 6 a.m. and found a dozen or so men gathered around hoping to get a job for the day. They were huddled around a small fire trying to keep warm.
He yelled out, “I need six strong men for harvesting! I’ll pay you a full day’s wage. Cash. At the end of the day.”
Immediately six men jumped up and ran towards the truck.
They all looked like hard workers so the farmer instructed them to jump in the back of the truck.
They arrived back at the farm a short time later and the day-laborers went right to work.
Around 9 that morning, the farmer saw that more help was needed, so he drove back to town to look for additional workers.
A few more men had gathered and he explained he needed more workers for his harvest. He promised them a fair wage so several men jumped up and climbed in the back of his truck.
The farmer returned to the farm with the workers and they went right to work.
Around 2 that afternoon the farmer returned a third time to town. Several more men volunteered. They drove back to the farm and went right to work.
As the day was coming to a close, the farmer saw he had just a little more than an hour of sunlight left but still plenty of work to do.
So he headed to town one more time. He arrived at 5 p.m. and saw only a few men were left. They were sitting around wondering how they’d be able to go home and face their wives with nothing to show for the day or themselves.
The farmer called out to them and offered work to anyone who was interested. A few more men volunteered. Included in the group was a man that had been there since 6 a.m.
The farmer saw him and realized he had probably been picked over by the other employers throughout the day simply because of his size. He didn’t look like much like the manual labor type.
The man told him that farm work didn’t sound too attractive in the bitter cold of the morning. He had hoped someone else might hire him if he waited long enough — but with the day quickly wasting away, any money was better than money.
The group returned to the farm and went right to work.
An hour later the sun was setting and the farmer called all the workers in.
He lined up the day laborers and asked his foreman to hand out their pay, starting with the men who started work at 5 p.m.
The foreman opened his bag and handed each of them $100.
The men who started work at 9 a.m. and 6 a.m. started to get excited.
“Wow! If he pays that much per hour, think of what he’ll pay us!” They said among themselves.
The foreman then moved down the line and handed $100 to the men who started at 2 p.m.
Next $100 to the men who started at 9 a.m.
The men who had been working all day started to get suspicious.
“No way! He wouldn’t cheat us like that — would he?”
He reached the men who started bright and early that day and handed each of them $100.
They looked down at the money in disgust.
“What in the world are you trying to pull?!” yelled one of the workers.
One of them got in the foreman’s face and yelled, “You cheat! You’re keeping our money for yourself and hoping your boss doesn’t notice aren’t you?!”
Several others started pushing the foreman around — demanding answers.
The farmer noticed the squabbling and pulled out his hand gun — discharging it into the air.
The loud bang of the pistol stopped everyone in their tracks.
“Enough!” The farmer yelled. “What is your problem?!”
The laborers stood quietly, not sure who should speak.
Finally, one of the larger men spoke up.
“Your foreman cheated us,” he said. “He gave $100 to the men who only worked an hour and then gave us $100 as well.”
The farmer looked at the man and raised his right eyebrow.
“Is that so?” he asked.
“We’re certain of it.” the laborer responded. He then asked all the laborers to show the farmer their pay. They each held out their hands a crisp $100 bill.
“Did we not agree on a full day’s wage?” the farmer asked.
“We did,” spoke the laborer.
“And is $100 not fair?” the farmer asked.
“Well but…” the laborer stammered.
“Well but?”
The farmer waited for his reply.
“Well but…” the laborer paused as he tried to think through his argument. “But you gave the men who only worked one hour the same pay as us!”
The farmer smiled.
“Is $100 not a generous pay for a day’s wage?” he asked.
The laborers all nodded in agreement. It was hard to argue that point.
Even working a full 12 hours elsewhere they were lucky to get more than $60 for harder work.
“And if I’m generous with money for you — why do you question how generous I am with my money for others?”
The laborers stood and considered his point. They each looked at their pay and knew it would be a huge bonus for them and their families.
Slowly, one by one they conceded their argument and began their walk back to town.
—
And that my friends is what the Kingdom of God is like.
A generous God pouring out his grace on us — not based on how hard we work.
Not based on how well we do.
Not based on our abilities.
Not based on if we heard him calling our name as a child or in our golden years.
His grace is generous and sufficient for all.
No matter where we are, what we’ve done — we all get the $100 too.
