September 16 - Last Place.

Matthew 20:16
“So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”
 
Have you ever known someone who always wants to be first in line? When dinner is called they are the first to fill their plate. When they meet another car at the drive thru they wouldn't even dream of allowing them to go first for fear they might have to wait for their French fries. They won’t hold the door for someone and allow them to get ahead of them in line at the Post Office.
 
Faces may be flooding your mind, or maybe you even feel a little convicted.
 
Jesus used the Parable of the Labourers In The Vineyard for us to learn how to be a servant. Those that were hired in the eleventh hour were paid the same amount that those hired the third hour. The eleventh hour labourers were paid first. When the third hour labourers saw this, they assumed they would receive more money since they had worked all day. They were wrong, and they began to murmur among themselves against their employer. The ones that worked an hour received the same pay as those who had “borne the burden and heat of the day”.
 
Our flesh wants to sympathize with those who had worked all day long and yet received the same pay as those who barely broke a sweat. Can we not relate with their hurt feelings? Sure, we all can; but we should not let that prevent us from serving. Jesus was teaching His disciples and us today that we should have a heart to serve others.
 
Jesus had a servant’s heart. He is our Ultimate Example of a Servant. He even washed the feet of His disciples. How many feet have you washed other than your own? We have opportunities every day to show the love of Christ by serving others. It is a Biblical principle to allow others to go before you. Do not allow your hurt feelings of the past to keep you from serving.  
 
Start today and strive for last place when it comes to serving. God promises us in His Word that He will bless us when we put others first.
 
 
Bible Reading:
Isaiah 11-12  |  Revelation 21  |  Psalm 48