The lights simmer as the night lengthens. Glowing luminescent as the music slowly fades into the rhythm steadying. A joyous occasion makes cheerfulness in the ambiance and you can feel it. Settling in. There’s one moment still awaiting… he planned from the beginning. In his back pocket he’s been saving it. For you. 

“The last will be first and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:16

When the music starts playing he knows what to do. And where to find you. When he holds you and moves you across the dance floor. It’s in his eyes where he captures you like he did the first moment he asked you to dance and you couldn’t help but let him. Here he’s beckoning you again… into the nostalgia of your romance playing out under the lavender lamps and chandeliers cascading.

He will always want you to dance with Him…

“Let them praise His Name with dancing and make music to Him with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with victory.” Psalm 149:3-4 ‭

Feel the emotion undergirding the sentiments of love freely give to you… of salvation freely given to you… of joy and excitement and jubilation freely lavished on you.

In Luke 7 Jesus talks about the kingdom of God and the importance of receiving it when given. The imminence of joy… the offer of abundant life and satisfaction. Dancing. Singing. Fellowshiping. It’s all apart of the Kingdom of God where every joy births. In this passage Jesus points out the irony of how God reveals Himself but the ones hearing did not hear it or recognize it. And the tragedy of such a reaction. John the Baptist came proclaiming the coming of the Messiah and yet some did not accept his words. Now Jesus has come and some will not accept Him either.

“They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’” Luke 7:32

Jesus came to beckon a response of jubilation for the Kingdom of God at hand… and it’s worth celebrating!

In life, Jesus tucks blessings of joy intended for our satisfaction that He wants you to enjoy.

God is a God who loves festive recreation and delight in the blessings of His love and His provisions. In this verse the children were reveling in the joy… but the ones who heard it would not dance. There’s a contrast here of what it means to be fulfilled and what it means to be unfulfilled. To be fulfilled is to take joy in the Kingdom of God. To take joy in everything life expresses and contains and gives and promises.

Jesus is showing them that they have been given a gift of joy that they are allowed to partake in if they would seize it and join in… and because there have been many who did not receive, the Gentiles are going to be welcomed in. All people will be given the inheritance who follow Jesus, the Maker of the Heavens and the Earth. Ephesians 2:13 says, “those who were once far off have now been brought close by the blood of the Messiah.” Hence, “the first will be last and the last will be first” as Jesus said.

In Matthew 20 where He spoke of this passage, Jesus was telling a parable about how he gave wages to workers and the workers all worked different hours. Yet Jesus gives the same to all of them. One of the workers complains to the master out of seeing it unfair that he should earn the same as another who worked much less than Him. Jesus rebukes this response by reminding Him who the giver of the wages is… and that its the giver’s right to give generously to all the workers. 

Jesus says, “Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’ So the last shall be first, and the first, last.” Matthew 20:15

“Is your eye envious?”

Are you jealous that I’m giving them a gift? Jesus asks…

Jealousy is a contagion of your own joy and blessing. Don’t go there! You have no need to be jealous of another when God has so much for you. Don’t be someone who only wants to gratify the self and cannot seek to provide for others and see them succeed. 

Why is it that the heart of mankind sees another with something good and wants to take it away?

May it not be so with you.

Be the one who seeks to see others blessed.

Your promotion hinges on your ability to see others excel and help them soar even higher.

If you cannot enjoy seeing another person blessed than you block yourself from being joyful in your own life and you also remove yourself from being blessed. Not wanting someone else to be blessed is a sign of a murderous heart. Murderers take from others and sabatoge other people. Murderers want other people to not have what they need. Murderers destroy life. It’s a form of killing. And it’s wrong. Don’t be that way. With Jesus in your heart you can’t be that way.

Follow Jesus Christ and give your heart to Him and you will truly delight in others being blessed because you understand that each person deserves to be given the best by God.

God does not tolerate stinginess.

Jesus rebukes the man who questions his generostiy.

In verse 14 He says, “I am doing you no wrong. Take what is yours and go; but I want to give to this last person the same as to you.”

I am doing you no wrong… Jesus said…

The man got what He was promised.

The man in this passage didn’t think that the other workers deserved the same pay as him. But Jesus makes it clear that its not his decision to make because its not his money. It’s the Master’s. God can be generous to whomever He wants to be generous to, and He can give blessings to whomever He wants to however He wants to. And sometimes God will give to the one least deserving because it’s His own merit of grace and kindness to give to all.

I want to give… Jesus says.

Jesus does not allow anyone else’s questioning to impede him from giving what He has the authority to give.

Giving is in His dna. He can’t not give. He can’t withhold blessing from someone. 

Jesus wants to give to you… so be like Him and give to others also. 

Jesus tells him that those who think they are first will be last. And the ones who are last will be first. This flips the societal norms of earning and receiving, where people were measured based on performance. Jesus is setting a new standard in this parable meant to echo the paradigm of the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is not about earning a place, it’s about Jesus’ own generosity to give. It’s not about our ability to do enough for God, it’s about His choice to want to give us everything just because He wants to. It’s grace over the Law. Grace over works. Grace over doing. Grace to be loved… cherished… enjoyed… and to enjoy eternal life with God forever.

With Jesus, you don’t have to prove yourself into the Kingdom, nor work for a place by His side. You already have it… because He chose you from the start. He wants to give you everything… and He has everything… so He freely gives it. He is a lover and that is what He does. It’s from this revelation of love that you become the vibrant tree of fruit that He makes you to be. And you fulfill the purposes He calls you to. Because He made it happen in you and through you.

You are welcomed into the Kingdom of God by Jesus’ own payment of your life and future. 

He’s waiting for you to receive it…

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

The apostle Paul writes the church in Philippi saying, “every need of yours” will be met. Do you have a need? God promises it will be met. Every need. Not just some needs. Every need. That’s what the scripture says and what the scripture says is truth. Not just met, but lavished… It says “according to His riches.”

God blesses in proportion to His riches.

And His riches are infinite!

He will not run out for you…

Someone else’s blessing will not take away your blessing. What God planned for you will come to pass. If God is a God who blesses others, He is a God who will bless you too. We all were made to thrive and experience the abundant life so it would be strange to see a world where people didn’t get blessed by God. I would wonder if God is who He says He is if He didn’t bless His people. He loves to bless and He loves to take care of us. Each person’s life is on a different trajectory. Embrace yours and that breeds contentment.

The first will be last… 

He loves you and He is saving so much for you…

God wants to give each and every person the blessings they were ordained to have.

Jesus has a dance specifically for you. A life specifically for you. Opportunities specifically for you. Each person has a blessed life they can seize with passion and feel the heights of satisfaction in when you understand who you are and journey with God in the life He has for you. 

When the Kingdom of God is at hand… open your heart.

When Jesus is speaking… listen.

When God is wooing you to dance… take His hand!

Like Jesus spoke in Luke 7 about the children playing the flute and dancing and singing with the people not responding… don’t let that be you. Joy looks good on you so let your heart be free and joyous in the excitement and revelry of the moment!

Now is the time to revel in the celebration of what God is doing. He’s doing something… What is He doing in your life? 

Don’t miss what God wants you to enjoy.

Don’t limp through life when you can dance.

The dance floor is yours… own it!

How do you like to celebrate? God loves celebration and He loves a party. Dancing is uninhibited and whimsical in Heaven. Free and gratifying. Fun and meant to outpour from the rejoicing of the Lord in your midst. Like David danced before the Lord coming home from battle.

Jesus says, “But wisdom is proved right by all her children.” ‭Luke‬ ‭7:35‬ 

Watch the children…

How do they sing? Dance? Enjoy life?

They teach us how to thrive with joy filled cheerfulness. How to keep the flame burning. 

“And David and all Israel were rejoicing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.” 1 Chronicles 13:8

Childlike wonder…

It’s beautiful in the Lord’s eyes. 

King David had a childlike heart of wonder and joy… all his life. A man after God’s own heart. You too reflect God’s heart. His angelic wonder. Never stop living that way. With wonder. With melodies. With passion.

There’s a dance He is saving for you…

A dance that serenades the Heavens with love inundated from above. He’s coming back for you. And He’s here. Holy Spirit. God is with you. Ever dancing with you if you will let Him. Always wooing you into more affection if you’ll respond to Him. Endlessly seeking to experience every moment with you. May the Lord continue to awaken love in your life and show you more of who He is.

lovers dance with love’s delight
lovers dance by candlelight
and every eye
is struck by you
when every tear
now fills the room
from witnessing
the bride and groom

you’ll always be
His bride

He saved the last dance for you

“And David danced before the Lord with all his might.” ♥️ 2 Samuel 6:14