By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by sinful desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
Ben Hogan purportedly said about setting up a bet in golf, “Someone will always have the advantage on the first tee, so it might as well be me.”
We all like good deals! Especially when they give us what we want, and even better when it’s a bargain deal.
It started in America in 1963 and was later produced in many countries around the world. A television game show called “Let’s Make a Deal.” Monty Hall was one of the producers and served as the host for 30 years.
The game involved selected members of the studio audience, called “traders,” to make deals with the host. To be a contestant or trader on “Let’s Make a Deal,” people brought worthless items from home hoping to be selected by the host to trade for something they couldn’t see behind a curtain, wall, or under a box.
Not to mention, they had to wait many hours in long lines to get into the studio audience with no guarantee they would be chosen to participate.
Often, a bad deal was made by the person from the audience, and a prize referred to as a “zonk” (an item purposely selected to be of little or no value) ended up in the trader’s possession. Decisions had to be made immediately.
We All Like Good Deals! Terms like “mutually beneficial” may be what we say in negotiations, but at closing time, we want to feel as though the deal was good for us. Probably like setting up the bet on the first tee!
The scripture above represents some incredible “deals” made by God to all of us. It is the “Deal of the Ages.”
A few observations about this deal:
- There is no long line to wait to be a participant
- You are told in advance what’s behind the curtain
- Everyone is invited to participate in this deal
- All of our junk, sin, shame, and guilt is given up
- The Host, Jesus, gives incredible gifts immediately, and promises even more that are to come
Friends, if you haven’t said yes to Jesus and trusted by faith in what He did on the cross, taking all of the sins of those who believe on himself, and defeating death, hell, and the grave so that we can be rescued from this present evil world, then you are missing the best deal ever in the history of the world.
The original Let’s Make a Deal TV show, with its creator and host Monty Hall, ended after 30 years, with many people regretting the choices they made.
Our lives will last forever. Where our lives spend eternity depends on our choice to accept or reject this deal. The offer will expire at some point (see Hebrews 9:27). The choice we make to accept or reject the offer made by the Creator will determine whether we enjoy the prize or suffer the loss.
Would you please take this offer and bring your junk, all of your sin, shame, guilt, bogies, doubles, quads, shanks, slice, and hooks to Jesus and trade it for the priceless gift He holds before you?
What a deal! We get adopted into His family and immediately receive forgiveness of our sins, receive His righteousness, experience abundant life, joy, peace, love, with the promise of an inheritance, and become eternally secure as the beloved by God! (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
Wow, what a deal! I said yes to Jesus and went all in to trust and follow Him in the spring of 1978, and have never regretted making the deal. Have you? If so, when? If not, why not today?
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for being Creator, Savior, Host, and Friend, and thank you for giving us the best deal ever.