“Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15).

In this parable Jesus told of a landowner who hired men for his vineyard. He paid the ones hired at the beginning of the day one denarius. It was what they had agreed to. One hour before the finish of the work day he hired others and gave them each one denarius—the same pay. The ones who worked all day complained because they thought they should receive more.

The point Jesus was making is that we have a generous heavenly Father. Salvation is an expression of His generosity and He chooses to give the same salvation to everyone who comes to Him. We may come to Him early in life or late in life. The gift of salvation is the same. That is because God is generous. Salvation isn’t earned, it is given to us.

My mother’s father accepted Christ in his late 60’s. He’s in heaven now because God didn’t say, “Where were you in your 20s?” God gave him the same salvation He gives everyone. That kind of economy is strange to most of us. We believe we get what we earn. That’s not how God operates. With Him we receive what we could never earn. God’s economy is built around His generosity.

I have often heard, “God helps those who help themselves.” That isn’t the whole truth. God helps those who can’t help themselves! It doesn’t matter how old we are when we accept the Father’s invitation to come home. He is generous with His gift of salvation. He offers us the same salvation He gave to those who have served Him longer. He is generous and we can all be thankful for that.