The Price is Paid

Welcome to Unseen today.  Technology can get a bad reputation and television in particular. There are definitely negative influences, but God can use anything to teach us. Read on for a fun lesson I learned from a game show.

The Price is Paid

You are not your own. You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your bodies. 1 Cor. 12:3

I have a guilty pleasure. I love to watch The Price is Right. I like the excitement of people coming up to contestants’ row or up on stage. I like the silly T-shirts people come with, and I like the games. I was talking about this to a friend and these are our favorites.

                Cliff Hanger - You can make a certain number of mistakes but if you make too many, your little man falls off the edge of the mountain.

                Plinko - You win Plinko chips and release them from the top of a slanted board.  They bounce off of pegs and end up in slots at the bottom. The slots have different dollar amounts from 0 to 10,000

                The Check Game - You fill in the amount on the blank check that you think the prize ids worth.

                 Has your spiritual life ever felt like a game show?  Do you feel like you have a certain number of mistakes allowed before God gives up on you and lets you fall off the cliff? Maybe you try to keep all the rules or do good deeds to scramble back down the mountain a few steps. How about Plinko? Even though you know God loves you, do you feel like life tosses you around like a Plinko chip? Maybe you feel secure in your salvation, but when it comes to abundant life you are unsure whether you will end up with lots of blessing or a bit fat nothing.  Maybe you feel more like the check game.  What value do you place on yourself? Who gets to decide how worthy you feel? Is it your job, your spouse, or is it a parent’s voice that said, “You’ll never amount to anything. “             

                There is good news. The game we are playing is The Price is Paid. Jesus paid for our mistakes with his death.  He didn’t fall off the cliff. He willingly went over the edge so we wouldn’t have to. John 10:28 says, “For this reason the father loves me because I lay down my life. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father."   He also gives us abundant life (John 10:10). Psalms 23 says that He anoints our head with oil and our cup runs over. When it comes to value, he says that he bought us with a price.  The price was his own blood.  Matt 20:28 says the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

                Yes, life can seem like a game, but we can win here and we can reap the rewards for eternity. Take heart.