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. . . The Last Shall Be First

Album: Gold Audio 11: It's Another Fine Day

Episode: 151

Lesson/Theme: The parable of the workers; salvation.

Bible Verse: Matthew 18:12-13; 20:1-16

Characters: Donna, Jimmy, Lucy, Connie, Whit

Writer: Phil Lollar

Sound Designer: Dave Arnold

Original Air Date: April 27, 1991

Last Air Date: July 28, 2008

Description:
The Little Theatre at Whit's End is a mess. The kids have just finished re-enacting Jesus' parable of the workers. To clean things up, Whit enlists the aid of Jimmy and Artie, agreeing to pay them $15 for a job well done. Around noon, Donna drops by. Whit also hires her to help clean the theatre. Then, later that afternoon, Lucy and Curt wander in, and Whit engages their cleaning services for the going rate of $15. Meanwhile, Connie is trying to get her great-uncle Joe Finneman to go back to church. He stopped going years ago, and Connie has made him her personal project. But no matter what Connie says, Uncle Joe stubbornly refuses to go. He feels church is for the young, like Connie, not for old folks, like himself. Connie tells Whit about this, and he gets an idea. Whit has Connie bring Uncle Joe down to the Little Theatre to witness Whit paying the kids for a job well done. Just as in the scriptural model, those who were hired first complained that they were paid the same as the workers hired later in the day. But Whit sets them straight. Connie uses the illustration to point out to Uncle Joe that God's salvation is available to all people, no matter what "time of day" they come to Him. The following Sunday, Uncle Joe accepts Connie's invitation to come to church.

Questions:
Was Whit was unfair to pay everyone the same wage? Why or why not? Uncle Joe thought he was too old to go to church. Why do you think he believed that? How would you get an unsaved friend or relative to go to church with you?