God Wants Everyone to Go to Heaven

Hell Friends,

Were you able to have an enjoyable Fourth of July? Were you able to see some fireworks light up the night sky? I think I told you last week that Emily and I went to see the Robinson Fireworks….well, that is partially true. By the time we were able to leave the house, we watched most of them from the car on our way there; and by the time we got there, they were over. Maybe next year…. It’s hard to believe the Fourth of July is over and that we are approaching the halfway mark of July. I hope you are able to enjoy the remaining days of summer: going on adventures, creating memories, and taking time to laugh! If you are looking for something to do this week, the Crawford County Fair begins on Saturday!!!

Today, I want us to think about how God wants everyone to go to heaven. But first, I want to ask you a question: Can any of you think of a time when you thought something wasn’t fair? We like things to be fair, don’t we? Well, today we’re going to read a story about some people who didn’t think things were fair. Let’s read from Matthew 20:1-7:

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’”

So, the farmer is hiring different people to work on his farm. He hired some of the people in the morning, and they worked all day. Then, he hired some more later in the day, and he hired some just an hour before the workday was over. Now let’s read Matthew 20:8-12:

“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.’ The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These 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.’”

The farmer paid everyone the same amount of money. The person who worked only one hour was paid the same amount as the person who worked all day. Do you think that’s fair? Lastly, let’s read Matthew 20:13-15:

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

So, the farmer said that he was paying the people who worked all day exactly what he said he would pay them. He wasn’t cheating them. He was just being nice to the other workers by giving them the same amount.

That’s kind of how God is. There are some people who love God and do the right things for their whole life. They’re sort of like the people who worked for the farmer the whole day. And they know that when they love God and do the right things for their whole life, they will go to Heaven when they die. That will be their reward from God. But other people don’t love God and do the right things their whole life. Maybe they only start to love God when they’re an adult, or when they get old, or maybe even right before they die. But God still lets them go to Heaven the same as the person who loves God and does the right things their whole life.

So, the farmer gave everyone the same pay, no matter how long they worked, and God lets everyone come to Heaven, no matter how long they believed in Him. God wants everyone to go to Heaven, so He always gives everyone as many chances to believe in Him as He can before they die. Sometimes things just don’t seem fair, but in the eyes of God we must remember that God works in miraculous ways. Whether we are a new believer or a well-seasoned believer, God gives everyone a fair chance to get to heaven because in His mansion there are many rooms.

The next time you think something is unfair, take a step back, and try to see the situation through God’s eyes (and the farmer’s eyes)!

Let us Pray: Dear God, we thank You for giving everyone as many chances to believe in You as You can. Help us to be happy for everyone who believes in You, whether they believe in You when they’re young or when they’re old, at the start of their life or at the end of their life. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Have a Wonderful Week!

Your Friends, Holy Spirit!

Lesson: https://ministry-to-children.com/lesson-god-wants-everyone-to-go-to-heaven-parable-of-the-workers-in-the-vineyard/