It is by grace you have been saved.
—Ephesians 2:8
In the play Amadeus, the devout Antonio Salieri is obsessed with the desire to become a famous composer; but he doesn’t have the talent. He wonders why God denies him fame while rewarding the obscene, undeserving Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
God describes Job as a “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Jb 1:8). We wonder why God let him suffer undeserved agony.
We meet the bewildering puzzle again in Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers (Mt 20:1–10). Those who worked twelve hours received the same pay as those who worked only one. It doesn’t seem fair, and it makes no economic sense.
That was Jesus’ point. He was giving us a picture of grace, which can’t be calculated like wages.
God dispenses gifts, not wages.