This short story, The Last Minute, coincides with us; its parallels to our lives make it a realization story. Truth and reality collide in this story to reveal an inevitable realization, and I want you to know the inevitable realization coincides with the last moments of our lives.
At the last minute, this informative story reveals a deathbed situation we’ll all become involved with sooner or later. Surely, this concerning story describes and relates to many people who live carefree on this Earth until the last minute of their healthy life.
Within this fact-of-life story, designed to include nearly everyone, the word carefree describes our youth, good health, and a long life ahead of us. However, the last-minute phrase describes our youth, our health, and our long life coming to an end.
In many of my stories, I identify the ground where we stand as a testing ground: I identify this Earth as the middle ground or the neutral zone between Heaven and Hell, and we are foolish if we do not take this life test in the flesh seriously.
Positively, this place called Earth is our proving place, and lifestyles and characteristics reflect the making of our image. Truly, this concerning story, The Last Minute, represents a desperate time if we’ve proceeded through our cycle of life, carefree and godless.
For example, illuminating the meaning of the life cycle proving ground means the hourglass is against us, and our allotted time to prove alliance with our Creator is running out. This truth means if we’ve waited until the end of our lives to resist the ways of the devil, then at the last minute, we decide to be a child of God; we are walking on thin ice.
Indeed, at the last minute, I am asking you, how will we prove our sincerity, our allegiance, and our love for the ways of God? Simply because this desperate last-minute conversion on our deathbed doesn’t leave much time to verify anything solid and everlasting.
Especially when we haven’t enough time left in the hourglass to show ourselves worthy servants and loyal friends to our Creator Judge, I conclude it takes a certain amount of time to prove ourselves faithful to Him, and we cannot prove anything at the last minute.
Furthermore, any person can say, and most sinners will say, if I had my life to live over, I would be glad to live it for the God of Heaven and Earth. However, with much regret, spring still turns into fall, and no one receives the opportunity to back up the time clock and live their life over.
Therefore, because we cannot back up the clock, we better get on fire for God while we still have time to prove we are involved with Him for the long haul. However, I advise you that being a hot and on-fire Christian early in life is our best eternity option.
It’s for sure; time to make a difference is short, and we shouldn’t wait until we are too old or sick to evangelize for God effectively. Simply because no one living on their deathbed can effectively prove how much the holy and righteous word of God means to them.
This informative and warning story, The Last Minute, says conversion to Christianity must establish an undeniable fact, which is as clear as the sky on a full moon night. I am telling you, last-minute conversion to Christianity proves nothing if compared to a long-time established conversion.
However, some men come in at the last minute for reasons unknown to me, and thanks to God, they’ll be paid as much as the person working all day. Maybe this lesson should be called the Parable of the Vineyard, especially since the message in this story emphasizes coming in last.
Positively, we could be considered the workers in this story and God as the Lord of the vineyard in many ways. This truth means the Lord of the vineyard owns the kingdom of Heaven, and the sweet fruit on the vine symbolizes conversion to Christianity.
Bible scriptures reveal some workers gathered in the field early in the morning, some about noon, and some came in later in the day, about the eleventh hour. However, when it came time for every man to receive his pay, the Lord of the Vineyard paid everyone the same amount.
Matthew 20:10 But when the first (workers) came, they supposed they should have received more.
Therefore, some believers must’ve thought rewards are paid according to minutes and hours. So, the ones who came in first murmured against the Lord of the vineyard because they felt they were worth more than the person who came in last.
The men coming in first were the men who worked the longest in the field, and they expected more reward than the other workers who came in last. Usually, this is how most wages are allocated to the laborers, but my fair God is the Lord of this vineyard.
However, since this is a symbolic story, conversion to Christianity is the real issue, and the field is another name for the world. Then I believe it’s correct to say the murmurers who came in first symbolize a holier-than-thou feeling or more deserving feeling.
Therefore, the fair and righteous Lord of the vineyard said, I do no wrong, and the compassionate Lord told the workers, I’ve paid what I agreed to pay, and the Lord of the vineyard said to the murmurers and the complainers.
Matthew 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Is thy eye evil (means envious) because I am good?
The following enlightenment scripture explains the meaning of this story better than I can, and it puts a definite purpose to the parable of the vineyard and equal reward to the first and the last. So, I conclude that the Lord of the Vineyard talks about His chosen people who’ve come through life’s briars, thorns, and hardships.
Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: For many shall be called, but few are chosen.
Paul Douglas Castle, Bible story writer