A few days ago I took the youth to a Chris Tomlin & TobyMac concert. It was a lot of fun! We had a great spot, about 15 feet from the stage! It was one of the best concerts I have been to in a long time.
Due to some of the youth not being able to go, I wound up with extra tickets. I called some friends who I thought would enjoy the concert and could go last minute, but I still wound up with extra. After some thought and discussion with the people there, I decided just to give the tickets away.
Now, like I said, these were great “seats.” They were on the floor right in front of the stage. Not cheap seats. So, I took up position a bit away from the entrance and was holding the tickets in plain view. As people came up to go into the concert, I would just ask, “Do you have tickets yet?” I was a bit shocked as most people would say, “Yes.” Then I would watch these people walk up and get in line at the ticket booth.
Now, I am not known for being the smartest person all the time. In fact there are many times something can be staring me right in the face and I’ll miss it. “What in the world?” I thought to myself. “Why are they doing that?” Then I realized what was going through their mind. “Can you believe the nerve of that guy? Scalping tickets at a Christian concert!”
So, I decided to change my tactic. I walked right up to where people standing in line to buy tickets and started my conversations with a new statement: “Hi, I’m not scalping. I have extra tickets I am giving away. Anyone interested?”
The looks I got from the people there, some of the same people who walked by me and said they had tickets, was priceless. They looked confused, skeptical, and disbelieving. Finally, after one of those great awkward silences, this guy walked up and said, “Do you have 6 together?” “ Sure do!” I said. “Here ya go.” He took them and asked where they were. “Right up front, on the floor.” I answered. Almost everyone in line turned back around as I said that. It didn’t take long for me to run out of tickets then. Two teenage girls even hugged me as I gave them tickets for them and their parents. Unfortunately, I did run out and had to tell a few people that I didn’t have anymore.
The whole experience got me thinking, “I wonder if this is why some people won’t accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Does it all sound just too good to be true? Is it too hard to believe that it is free? That someone else already paid the price for our gift?”
If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior because you think its just too good to be true, I urge you to just accept the free gift of His forgiveness and salvation. Don’t put it off thinking that His grace is not enough or that the gift of salvation costs too much. The the reason those of us who are redeemed do all that we do for Jesus Christ is because we want to, not to pay for what Jesus gave us.
Salvation is free.
If you believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you will be saved.
In Christ,
jon walton
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