God’s Grace and Chuck E Cheese

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace… Ephesians 1:7

One of things I like about Chuck E Cheese’s is that when you (or your child) is finished playing a game, the machines spits out coupons, which can then be exchanged for a prize. In a small way it is symbolic of the redemption process spoken of in the Bible, for like those coupons, we have little or no face value; it could be said we are worthless.

Enter the Redeemer

You might say that the prize you get in exchange for your tickets (at Chuck E Cheese) is also without worth, and that’s of course where the similarity ends. For we see the blessing Christ provides is beyond the value; it’s worth being incalculable. This would not be possible if God were not rich in grace.

Riches of Grace

Imagine for a moment we’re back at Chuck E's. We’ve counted up our tickets and we announce to the prize-giver-outer guy, “We have three hundred and ninety-two tickets. What do we get?”

“Well, it seems you have just enough for the Mercedes convertible, ” he says.

Now imagine the reaction of your friends and family when you pull up in that shiny new car. That’s grace and it’s just a small glimpse of what our redemption, through Christ’s blood, looks like. What we have to offer the Lord is without worth, but what He desires to give us in exchange is beyond worldly explanation. When we show up at Heaven’s gate, surely every jaw will drop and it will be heard from one end of Heaven to the other, “That is one gracious God we serve!”

Might you be so bold as to share some of that grace?

COMPASSION dave