“For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” (Luke 13:30)

Jesus is not asking us to compare ourselves to others. Every one of us has a different kind of grace from God. St. Paul once encouraged himself to work hard and while spreading the Gospel to others, that he himself will not be abandoned outside heaven.

Jesus once told a parable where two people went up to the temple area to pray, and the Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity - greedy, dishonest, adulterous…I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' Jesus taught us that the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

Therefore, in order for us to tirelessly walk the road of sanctification, we need to have a humble heart to admit any wrongdoings and have the courage to start over repeatedly.