A Story of Faultless Fairness (Matthew 20:1-16)

Give a single bag of M&Ms to two four-year-olds and tell them to share. You will witness counting done with accountant-like precision. Each child will get an equal amount of candy because that is fair. Human beings have an incredibly strong sense of fairness. That is why it can be so perplexing when we see how God dispenses blessing and grace. We see people who mock God who are more prosperous than believers. We see people who convert on their deathbed, and Scripture tells us they obtain the same salvation as someone who has been Christian all his life. How is that fair? Through a simple story, Jesus teaches us a profound truth. It appears that God is not fair. He does not give us what we deserve, and that’s called mercy. In fact, he gives us what we don’t deserve, and that’s called grace. No, God is not fair… at least according to our standard of fairness. He is fair according to his.