Uncashed Lottery Ticket

As the clock struck 5:00 PM in California on February 4, 2016, sixty-three million dollars went unclaimed in the state lottery. Signs were up in stores, in the form of a check, in which on the “Pay To” line was the question, “Is It You?” No one claimed the winnings.

Someone purchased a lottery ticket that he or she did not present for winnings. Maybe it was thrown out in the trash, maybe it was soaked beyond legibility in the clothes washer, maybe it lies somewhere in a purse or pants pocket, maybe it rests beneath the seat of a car. Lottery officials know where the ticket was purchased on August 8, 2015 and they’ve advertised the date and location of purchase. There is a person who says he purchased the ticket but that he lost it; the lottery rules state that you must have the physical ticket to win.

While we may think it a shame that someone who purchased a lottery ticket did not receive his sixty-three million dollars in winnings, this means nothing when compared to the free gift of eternal life which Jesus Christ purchased for all of us. Jesus did not ask us to play a game of chance in order to return to the God who created us; He did not ask us to earn our way back into a relationship with the God who loves us; neither Jesus nor His Father wanted us to be in a situation where the assurance of our redemption and restoration could be in doubt – and so God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus came for us, lived for us, suffered the penalty of our sin for us, died for us, rose for us, and comes again into our lives because we could do nothing to bring ourselves back into a relationship with our Father – we could not even spend a dollar for a ticket – we had and have no ability whatsoever to rise from spiritual death, to cleanse ourselves from our sin, and to find our way back into an intimate relationship with God. We all have a cancer that we cannot cure.

Sadly, many of us ignore God’s offer of love and life; many of us never accept the gift of eternal life that Jesus purchased for us. Sadly, many of us who have accepted that gift never share it with others, we never tell them that Gods loves them so much that His Son purchased the greatest gift of all for them – freedom from sin, freedom from death, and an intimate relationship with God forever and forever.

If we were the friend of the person who purchased the ticket for sixty-three million dollars in lottery winnings, and we knew where the ticket was, would we not tell our friend? How much more ought we to tell others of the amazing gift of eternal life which Jesus Christ has purchased for them.