The Free Tickets
THE FREE TICKETS
Read Romans 3:22-28.
As Sheranda and Kayla walked toward the gym, Sheranda asked, “Kayla, do you expect to be in heaven someday?”
“Oh, sure,” replied Kayla. “I try to be good.”
“But no one is good enough,” said Sheranda.
“Well, I’m sure I stand a lot better chance of getting in than a murderer does,” insisted Kayla, as they arrived at the gym. “Here we are. Got your money ready?”
“Money?” asked Sheranda. “My brother’s on the team. I thought I could get in free.”
“I doubt it,” replied Kayla. “I brought a dollar.”
At the ticket office, the girls found that they did need to pay, and tickets cost two dollars each. “Oh no! What are we going to do now?” moaned Kayla. “I really want to see this game!”
“Kayla, this is like what I told you about getting in to heaven,” said Sheranda. “You had a dollar, and I had nothing. Which one of us is getting in to the gym?”
“Well, neither,” answered Kayla. But before they could finish the discussion they turned to see Sheranda’s father standing there.
“Oh, Daddy, I’m so glad to see you!” exclaimed Sheranda. “We don’t have enough money to buy our tickets.”
“I’ll pay for them,” answered her father.
The girls sat down in the bleachers just in time to see the teams take their places on the court. “You know, Kayla,” said Sheranda, “we both got here because my father paid for the tickets. That’s like what Jesus did for us. He paid the price to buy our tickets for heaven.”
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Do you expect to get in to heaven because you’re better than others are? That’s not the way it works. Be sure you’re not so proud of your “dollar”—your own goodness—that you refuse Christ’s “free ticket.”
TO MEMORIZE:
We are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
Romans 3:28
TRUST JESUS, NOT YOUR GOODNESS.
From the book
