ride

Three engineers and three managers went to a conference and had to

travel by train to get there. At the station, the three managers bought

their three tickets and watched as the three engineers bought only a

single ticket. "How are three people going to travel on only one

ticket?" asked a manager. "Just watch and you'll see," answered an

engineer.

They all boarded the train and the managers took their seats and

watched as all three engineers crammed into a restroom and closed the

door behind them. The train departed and shortly afterward, the

conductor came around collecting tickets. He knocked on the restroom

door and said, "Ticket, please." The door opened just a crack and a

single arm emerged with a ticket in hand. The conductor took it and

moved on.

The managers saw all this and agreed it was quite a clever idea.

So after the conference, the managers decided to copy the engineers on

the return trip and save some money. When they got to the station, they

bought a single ticket for the return trip. But to their astonishment,

the engineers didn't buy a ticket at all.

"How are you going to travel without a single ticket?" asked one

manager. "Just watch and you'll see," answered an engineer.

They boarded the train. The three managers crammed into a restroom

compartment and the three engineers crammed into an another one nearby.

The train departed. Shortly afterward, one of the engineers left his

restroom, walked over to the managers' stall, knocked on the door and

said, "Ticket, please."

We get excited at the prospect of getting something for free. If

we have received something without paying anything at all, we "feel the

rush" (that's why your heart beats faster as you open that envelope

saying, "You may have won....").

Likewise, we get excited at the thought of Jesus' sacrifice being a

"free gift" (and it was indeed -- Rom. 5:18). Our excitement may wane,

however, when we hear Jesus talk about "counting the cost" of

commitment. If it's a free gift, how can it cost anything? But Jesus

tells us that there is a high cost indeed.

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after

Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'" (Matt.

16:24).

Those not willing to "pay the price" may find themselves

disappointed when they don't get the "free ride" that they expect.