|
|
There
was a young boy who was a huge baseball fan. Everyday
he would go to the baseball stadium of his favorite
team, dressed in the team's colors, with an old,
beaten cap to match. As game time neared, the boy
would stare from behind the fence and watch as the
people entered the stadium through the turnstiles,
but he would stay outside, listening to the roar
of the crowd. As much as the little boy wanted to
have the gate attendant to take |
|
Unknown to the little boy, the coach of the team
would come to the stadium early each day to prepare
for the game, and over the course of the season
the coach had noticed the little boy standing
by the fence each day, beaten glove in hand, staring
through the holes in the fence. One day, as the
coach arrived at the stadium, he noticed that
the same little boy, beaten glove in hand, staring
through the holes in the fence, but this day he
noticed tears streaming down either side of the
boy's face. Concerned the coach walked over to
the little boy and asked, "Why are you crying,
did you lose something?" The boy replied,
" No sir, I am sad because everyday I walk
from the shelter downtown to this stadium hoping
that I might see my favorite team play, but everyday
I come I am told that I cannot enter because I
do not have the money to buy a ticket. "
The little boy's tears and confession of his love
for his favorite team touched the heart of the
coach; so he told the little boy to follow him.
They came to the ticket taker at the gate and
the coach told him, " I am paying the admission
for this little boy so that he can enter and see
the game. And from now on whenever this boy shows
up for a game, charge his admission to me and
let him enter." With this the little boy
yelled for joy and thanked the coach for his gracious
gift.
We
are often like this little boy. We may be at the
gates of heaven, looking through the fence, waiting
for an opportunity to get in. But like the little
boy, we do not have the ticket, we cannot pay
the fee to gain entrance because of our circumstances.
Our sin keeps us out. However, our heavenly Father
sees our tears, our pain, our hurt and his heart
aches; he wants to pay the fee so that we can
enter. So in order that we may enter the kingdom
of heaven, God granted us an eternal ticket through
the death and resurrection of his Son the Lord
Jesus Christ. All we have to do in order to gain
that eternal pass into heaven is confess that
we are unable to pay our dues and accept God's
gift of grace. And like the little boy, we can
yell and shout, for the Lord has given us the
loving gift of salvation.
Have
you thanked the Lord for his wonderful gift to
you?
|
