Matthew 20

Good morning. Sorry I haven't presented a SOAK for Matthew 19; I will do that tomorrow. On Wednesday, I woke up a little before my alarm so I turned it off. I assumed that night that it was on and didn't check it, and therefore oversleep yesterday. 

Matthew 20:16 Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.

Jesus says this in the previous chapter and twice in this one. The first time is in reference to the workers who are envious of the ones who came at the end of the day and received equal pay. The second time was when James and John joined them, and the other 10 disciples were angry that they would be treated equal.  Jesus wants us to know that no matter what time he is acceptd into people's hearts, they will be allowed to ent the kingdom of heaven. I think, for instance, if someone doesn't accept Jesus until their death bed, we should not be envious that the person also gets into heaven next to someone who accepted Jesus years earlier. 

We shouldn't be jealous or envious when it comes to those accepting Jesus. But human nature makes it easy to see why it would happen. You work all your life, giving everything to God, and someone comes along at the last minute, after having struggled all their life with their demons, and both of y'all get the same treatment. We should instead be joyful that they found God, and won't suffer eternity in the fire. 

Lord, help me to understand what you want me to see. Help me not be envious of others but instead be joyful. Amen.