A Round-trip Ticket

B

efore I take a trip, I spend several days searching for an airline ticket that fits both my time schedule and my budget.  Usually, I start weeks before my departure so I can get the best deal on a good flight and make all the necessary arrangements traveling requires. 

The fastest and most expedient way to locate airline tickets is via the Internet.  Several services offer direct access to flight information and allow you to book and pay for the flight right online.  Moreover, you have the luxury of changing the dates, times, and locations of your departure and arrival in order to tailor the flight to your needs.  I just love to play with these buttons, changing the information just to see what will happen.  In all cases, though, I have noticed that purchasing a round-trip ticket is less expensive by far than traveling just one-way.

In recent weeks, I have spent time thinking about how this applies to the Christian life.  What does a round-trip ticket have to do with our lives in Jesus Christ?  Most often we see, hear, and share the fact that in order to come to God, we must have a one-way ticket and that one-way ticket is Jesus Christ.  This is so true and, in a nutshell, is the gospel.  However, today I want to concentrate on what Jesus did for us by his substitutionary death on Calvary.

The plan of salvation was made before the foundation of the world but the story of salvation begins in the Garden of Eden, in the book of Genesis.  Adam and Eve were created with no sin.  They had a perfect relationship with God enjoying direct access to him, talking with him, meeting with him in the garden, and living in complete fellowship with him on a daily basis.  All this was theirs until sin entered the picture.

Sin entered because Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  With one bite, they destroyed this wonderful relationship they had with God.  Gone was the closeness, the oneness, and the direct access to him.  No more could they walk with him in the garden or enjoy unhindered fellowship with God.  Sin, their sin, had erected a barrier between man and his God, a barrier that he could not remove because he was powerless to do so.

We see this truth in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.  Romans 5:17 tells us plainly, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. “  In this passage, Paul reminds us that by one man, Adam, death, the result of sin (Romans 6:23), became a reality for the entire human race.  From Adam down, mankind has lived with death, but more importantly, man has lived behind the veil of sin, separated from God.  Not until the coming of Jesus Christ was it possible for man once again to enjoy the relationship Adam had in the beginning.

This is why Paul refers to “God’s abundant provision of grace…” in this passage.  Through one man, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, salvation is available to all who ask for it.  This is wonderful news and the cause for great celebration!  Through the gift of his son, Jesus Christ, God makes it possible for man to be reunited with him and enjoy a fulfilling relationship with him.  Adam’s choice resulted in a one-way ticket away from God; Jesus’ gift of salvation to all who accept it offers a return-trip ticket back to God.  By accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we have direct access to God and can enjoy the relationship we were meant to have all along. Are you holding a one-way or a return-trip ticket today?