"No Price Too High"
November 1, 2016
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Pam and I have not been to any of the World Series games.
Now I am sure that you are surprised by that, since most of you know we hail from the Windy City. True, we were from the South Side, and cheering for the White Sox is in our blood, but getting to see the Cubs compete for the pennant is still a pretty exciting thing.
Nope, we didn't make it to the Series, and I suppose you're wondering why. Well, let me tell you. I checked on the ticket prices and was surprised to find a seat at Wrigley Field had gone up in cost. Normal prices at that ballpark usually range from $85 to $565. That's normally.
But the Cubs in the World Series is not a normal thing, and the seat prices aren't normal, either. Box seats at Wrigley Field were selling for $50,000 and more. One fellow was willing to part with his seat for $100,000, and another was marketing his box seat for just a tad under $1 million. After Pam vetoed those seats, I went back and tried to find the cheapest seat I could.
Folks, there was no such thing as a "cheap seat." Standing room only was going for $2,200.
Now I could have gone to Cleveland's Progressive Field. Things were cheaper there if you define cheaper in the loosest way imaginable. I had to write off Cleveland as some folks were writing checks there for over $12,000 a seat.
Now if you are at all like me, various words have been cropping up in your mind as I've described my quest. You know, words like "ridiculous," "outrageous" and "preposterous." In all probability you are thinking, "I never would pay such an incredibly high price to get into a baseball game, or anywhere else for that matter."
If that's what you've been thinking, I would encourage you to remember John 3:16.
You can recall that verse: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
That passage says that the Lord, in His grace, was willing to pay a very high price to gain your admittance into heaven. Indeed, that million-dollar-seat at Wrigley Field is an incredibly small amount when it is placed alongside the life and death of God's only Son.
Yet the Lord paid that price. So we might manage to be brought into heaven, the Savior was born in Bethlehem. Beginning there, His entire life was dedicated to fulfilling the laws we have broken. He resisted the temptations which had been so successfully used against the human race in the past. Then, when everything else had been done, Jesus carried our sins to the cross and died in our place.
His third-day resurrection from the dead says your place in heaven has been reserved.
And I'm pretty sure it's not an eternity standing-room only.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, what You have done for me is beyond human understanding. Pray make my heart one that is filled with appreciation and awe for Jesus' sacrifice and Your great grace. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
