pick the right Door

when i was young we only had one tv in our house. It was a small black and white tv. can you imagine that? only having one tv in any home is almost unheard of today. i still remember loving to watch it though. i did not care that it was small or black and white. i loved to watch game shows. one of my favorites was "let's make a deal." the purpose was to try to pick the right door to find the best prize. there was usually one really good prize and the rest just ok. i think back on it now and realize the thrill of the show was the gamble of picking a door and sticking with that decision or making a deal to exchange it for what might be behind another door. sometimes the contestants would walk away with great prizes and other times not so great. now that i think about it, there are many similarities to today's popular game show, "deal or no deal." in both games you are stuck with whatever decision that you make. there is no changing your mind after you see what is behind the door of your choice. you could not say, "wait, i made a mistake. i want to choose the other door." your prize was determined by which door you chose. you went home with it. and, you couldn't just run over and try to get what was behind the other door. that was not the door you chose. therefore, that was not the prize that was being offered to you. i think it would be pretty funny if that ever did happen to watch someone think that they could just run over and grab the grand prize thinking that they could just steal it off the stage without being grabbed up and thrown in jail.

somehow this memory brings me to the thought of me trying to get what i need from God and picking a way to try to get it like doing good things, giving my money to church, being a good mom, reading my Bible and praying for long periods of time. when i end up with a less than satisfactory thing, because i picked the wrong door to walk through, the results of my efforts, and i see the grand prize of God's abundant blessings was mine if i had chosen the right door, i am humbled. and i realize that i am being like the person i imagined in the game show that is unhappy with his prize and tries to run over and grab it and run away.

God has promised His blessings for my life, the best provision. but, there is only one way to get it. there is only one door that has the grand prize. Jesus is that door and faith in Him will give me access to it. In John 10:9 Jesus says "I am the Door, anyone who enters in through Me will be saved. he will come in and he will go out and will find pasture." if i try to access His blessings by going through another door, i am trying to steal it and i am no better than a thief.

i want the grand prize, all of the provision that Jesus bought and paid for me to have, the green pasture. i don't want to try every other door, efforts on my own to try to earn it. i don't want to try to steal it. God's favor and blessings are a gift that i can receive if i walk through the right Door and receive His provision for me. but, they are not available through any other door.

when i think about the game show and how you are stuck with the prize behind the door you choose. there is no changing your mind once you see the prizes. you can't recognize you were wrong and start over. but, with God there is always restoration. you can always start over and pick the right Door. the grand prize is yours at any time you choose Jesus as your way to attain it.