14 Jan Good News If You Didn’t Win Powerball
Simple Definition of lottery: a system used to decide who will get or be given something by choosing names or numbers by chance. Webster’s Dictionary
It seems that everyone wants a chance at becoming rich overnight this week. We are even putting pools of money together to increase our odds of winning the Powerball lottery. However, what we all seem to have forgotten is that the chances of winning the Powerball jackpot are one in 292 million. We are more likely to get struck by lightning TWICE in our lifetime than win this lottery.
Now don’t get me wrong: the hype that built up this week was fun to play off, and it was fun for people everywhere to think they might have a chance to win. But at the end of the day, players were throwing their name into a hat for the slimmest of slim chances at a distant dream. There was no guarantee; there was only luck.
What if we all ran to get a free ticket for something that was guaranteed, rather than bought a ticket for something not guaranteed? What if we ran to the feet of Jesus instead of ran to the convenience store to purchase a lottery ticket? Let us not forget that our chance of winning eternal life has already been guaranteed and it cost us nothing!
Jesus paid the price for all of our sins on the cross over 2,000 years ago. He paid all of our debts. He promised us the free gift of forgiveness and life more abundantly with Him. However, in this modern world of shiny, fancy things, we have simply forgotten that we have already won. We have no need to play the lottery. We have the opportunity to spend eternity with the King of Kings and walk on streets of gold.
Let us all remember that nothing of this earth that will be bought with money or a winning ticket will ever be more magnificent than eternity with the King! Let’s focus on the guarantee of the free gift of eternal life rather than the odds of winning or most likely, losing, the lottery.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)