The Final Bell

Summer has finally arrived! Yeah, yeah I know that “technically” summer doesn’t start for a couple of more weeks, but technically, I don’t care. When school is out, it’s summertime. Set, match, point and done.

Monday, I was participating in the annual ritual of helping Tracy get her classroom put in order during the final teacher work day. Everything had to be off the walls and all of the classroom furniture had to be cleaned, stacked, and labeled with masking tape. The floor had to be swept, the shelves had to be emptied, and all personal items had to be removed.

Having done this dance a few times, we have pretty well gotten it down to a science. We had already spent a couple of Saturdays hauling boxes to storage, and knew going in what was left and what each person’s tasks were going to be. Shortly after lunch, we had checked off every item on the list, gotten everything signed by the various administrators, and turned in the room key. We finished up with plenty of time to spare and then found ourselves sitting and staring at each other. The rule is that no one can leave until the principal dismisses EVERYONE at 3:30. It doesn’t matter if a teacher is finished or not. There is no reward for getting done early.

As we sat wondering what to do, an announcement was made that another teacher needed help. This was her first year, and she had underestimated the work that needed to be done. So Tracy and I joined a dozen other teachers and within a very short time, we were able to help her get everything in order.

In Sunday School last week, our lesson had to do with grace and rewards. As we discussed salvation and God’s unending love, our conversation turned to Matthew Chapter 20.

1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.


3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went.


"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'


7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.


"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'


8"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'


9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'


13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'


16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." *

Many times as Christians, we tend to look at our lives and try to check off all the things we think we need to do to follow God’s Word. Once it seems all is in order, the temptation is to just sit back and stare at each other while waiting on the last bell. We forget that there are those who are still in need of His grace.

God is still calling us to go bring His Word to a lost and dying world. Our mission is to invest our time and energy into others so that they might find Him. We do this not so our reward is greater, but so that others can have the same reward we ourselves have found.

Don’t be content to simply sit and wait for eternity. As you think about all that God has done in your life, stop and ask Him how you can bring that same joy and blessing to someone else. It is never too late in the game to lead someone to Christ.

Prayer: My prayer this week is that each of us would be reminded that there is no end to those who need Him, and we are called to go and make disciples.

Scripture: Matthew Chapter 20:1-16 / Matthew 28:18-19

* New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica