Matthew 20:6-7, “And about the eleventh hour (5 p.m.) he went out and found others standing and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day long?” They said to him, “Because no one hired us.” He said to them, “You too go into the vineyard.” Let me tell you what we did on our summer vacation. Before I do, I want to reflect on the parable above. Jesus gave a parable about how the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labor for his vineyard. When he agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them out to his vineyard. The landowner went out in the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace and said to them whatever is right I will give you. He did this in the sixth, and the ninth hours, as well as the eleventh hour. When evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman to call the laborers and pay them their wages beginning with the last group to the first. The ones hired about the eleventh hour each received a denarius. When those who were first hired came, they thought they would receive more since they worked all day, and they began to grumble that those hired in the eleventh hour received the same as those who worked all day. The landowner reminded them that they agreed to a denarius. He told them to take what was theirs and that he would give to the last man the same as the first. This parable is telling us that salvation is given to everyone any anytime we accept Jesus in our lives. What did we do on our vacation? We traveled through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Each time we stopped my son would hand out to each of us a little rubber Jesus that had a sash saying “Jesus loves you” on it. We would place these somewhere in the store, the gas station, the restaurant, and every place we entered. Even a car repair shop for someone to find. We put them where they would be noticed. The point was to let others know that Jesus is there when they need Him. It brought a smile to our faces when we would tell the place we left the Jesus. It wasn’t up to us what would happen to the Jesus when it was found. Maybe it would be a reminder to someone that Jesus is there for them. May they would pick up the little statue and take it with them, thankful for the reminder. We started with 100 of these and went through the box by the end of the trip. I received a message from the host of the AirBnB we stayed at after the trip asking me if we left the Jesus. She said she first thought we must have needed Jesus during our stay. I told her we left them on purpose to be found. She then responded, “Thank you.” My son and I have been doing this for months. While at a gas station, a woman in line saw my son place one by the checkout counter and said that was a nice reminder. Her husband had just been placed on hospice because his cancer had returned, and things were tough right now as her health was also declining. My son told her how we left the Jesus to be found and gave her one. She told him it was what she needed to see at that moment and thanked him. Some who find these may have a moment to reflect on that fact that Jesus is there for them and loves them. Others may feel offended and toss it aside. But at some point as people go about their day, they may notice the little Jesus and see the words “Jesus loves you.” Jesus is always there for us and wants us to know He loves us.