The Ground at the Cross is Level
“ So the last will be first, and the first will be last ” —Matthew 20:16, NIV. It’s amazing how much of our thinking revolves around getting the advantage over someone else. We strive for achievement, promotion, recognition and appreciation—all those things that give us “a leg up” as the saying goes. So it’s not surprising that many people reading this verse immediately apply it in the same way. We use it to warn those who are getting cocky, or who think they are one step ahead of everyone else, that things may not turn out as well as they think. Of course, we don’t apply that same rule to ourselves when we’re the ones who seem to have an advantage over others! We use the verse to console others, and ourselves, when we seem to be at a disadvantage. Someday, we say, we’ll be “top dogs” — the Bible says so! It turns out that we are all wrong about what Jesus was saying in this phrase. The saying comes at the conclusion of a parable that Jesus was sharing with His followers and is...