THE PRIZE

As a child I always loved getting a box of crackerjacks. They always came with a small cheap prize in every box. It was like getting two things for the price of one. We would rip open the box and immediately find the prize before ever eating the first popcorn. I remember some of the prizes were actually pretty cool and some, well, were just thrown away.

Then the fledgling fast food industry got in on the act and started offering free items. Buy one get one free or get a free coke on your fifth order, etc. Then the bigger they got the prizes started to increase and if you “won” a game you’d win a vacation or car. And as they got really big the jackpot winner received “security for life” by winning some huge amount of money.

Then governments got in on the action when they saw how “prize” oriented the masses had become. They called it a lottery with the net proceeds (after all good expenses were paid) going to some noble cause, usually education. For a dollar you had a tiny chance to win millions and “security for life”. Some people never played knowing there was no chance to win. Some people fell in love with the idea and played daily. Soon it was costing them everything they earned. And others just played once in awhile when the jackpot was humongous. Then once a month or so the lottery winner would be trotted out bearing a check with millions of dollars written on it, just to keep people motivated to continue playing.

Now can you imagine a prize more valuable than winning a lottery? A prize so awesome your mind cannot comprehend its value? How about a prize that never loses its value? A prize that pays off ALL your debts forever? A prize so wonderful the winner receives “security for eternity”? A prize that removes all doubts, fears and concerns of this world and replaces it with joy, a peace that passes all understanding and unconditional love. Now how cool is this, the odds of winning this prize are not 1 in 245,897,652 but 1 in 1. And do you know the best part of this prize? The cost of this prize has already been paid!

If we truly understood the unbelievable value and richness of this prize, this treasure, this indescribable gift, would we not all want it? Of course we would, I hope. The prize I’m talking about which you all know by now, is simply eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ our Savior.

As long as I am consciously pressing toward the mark of the PRIZE of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus as called for in Philippians 3:14, “things” in this world have little value. But as soon as my focus is on earthly things, which happens more often than I care to admit, I become consumed with the concerns, fears and worries this world has to offer. So when that happens I have to remind myself that I’m an eternal spirit whose earthly body is here for just a vapor of time. I just need to press on toward the mark of the PRIZE.

God Bless, Art