“He hit a $1.2 million jackpot, then lost the winning lottery ticket.” This story, reported by the Washington Post in March of 2021, describes how a young man bought a winning lottery ticket and lost it, but then found it again. In California, a $63 million jackpot went unclaimed after a deadline for redemption expired in February 2016. And according to UKFundraising, the largest unclaimed jackpot in the UK as of August 2021was £63.8 million (about $84 million US at this writing). How does this happen?
Neglecting the Winning Lottery Ticket
Although many lottery winners claim their prizes, a few do not. Some of the forfeitures are quite significant. So, why wouldn’t a winning ticket holder claim his or her prize? Who knows for sure—perhaps they bought the ticket and misplaced it, or simply lost it? Maybe they bought one or more tickets and then forgot about them. They probably don’t even know that they won anything. How about you—are you holding a winning lottery ticket that you’ve neglected, if only inadvertently?
Are You at Risk of Losing Your Winning Lottery Ticket?
More specifically, are you possibly at risk of losing the biggest winning ticket of all—that of your eternal salvation? After all, the salvation of your immortal soul is far more valuable than any monetary jackpot, no matter how rich the fiscal jackpot is. But are you going to claim your winnings? Our Lord wants to give you the lottery of a lifetime—an eternal lifetime, that is.
How Valuable is It to You?
Unfortunately, it seems that, in this current cultural milieu, many have forgotten about the gift of eternal salvation. They’ve metaphorically stuffed that winning lottery ticket in a desk drawer someplace, or maybe they’ve even tossed it out. Could it be that they were unaware of the value of the jackpot the Lord is offering them? Or is it just not valuable enough to be of concern at this time? Perhaps they have prioritized other prizes–(other gods)–over the gift of eternal salvation.
Universalism–Everybody’s a Winner!
The notion of universalism may have created a bit of ambiguity that leads some to delay in considering cashing in their winning ticket. Universalism is the concept that, in the final analysis, pretty much everyone will be saved. If that is true, we all will be winners, and we don’t even have to go to the effort to claim our winnings. If everyone can count on eternal salvation, we have permission to eat, drink and be merry in whatever manner we wish, for when we die we’ll go right to the winner’s line anyway. Yet, that is not what Jesus tells us:
Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Mt 7:13-14).
Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Mt 25:45-46).
But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen (Mt 22:11-14).
Cooperating with God’s Grace
Believe what you wish to believe. I, for one, am betting that we need to cooperate with God’s graces to avail ourselves of eternal salvation. Others far more knowledgeable and holy than I tell us that this is a good bet to take:
God who created you without you, will not save you without you (St Augustine, Sermo 169, 13).
The grace of God calls you and me back to Him when we’ve fallen or left Him. And his grace places us on the path of return. We desperately need Him and His saving grace. We also need to do our part, to cooperate with that grace.
What Really Matters
I’ve seen too many friends and family members fall away from the Church, and perhaps from any religious beliefs or devotions. This may be the case for you, or your friends and relatives. Maybe you, or someone you know, have been away from the Church for a while. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you last engaged with the Church. It could be a matter of months, years, or even decades. That’s not really important. What is important is taking that first step, coming back home. Our God is a patient God. He’s there, waiting with fatherly concern for you, just like the father in the parable of the prodigal son.
But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (Lk 15:20)
Turn back from the detours you’ve taken while there’s still time. God our Father welcomes you home without regard to your age or your past.
Your Identity and Destiny
We all have a couple of big questions in life to which we seek answers: “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” We’re sons and daughters of the God of the universe, who loves us each with a unique, infinite, amazing love! Don’t put your limits on His infinite love with your finite image of human fatherhood. Let Him love you unconditionally as you are. He knows everything about you and loves you more than you love yourself. He wants to give you His transforming, healing love.
Our destiny is to become saints–to participate in the beatific vision. On our own we can’t do this; it’s only possible with God’s grace. It’s an awesome opportunity open to anyone who is receptive to God and responds to His grace. He won’t push Himself on you. He respects you too much for that. But He does want to show you just how much He loves you.
He’s calling you to a renewed relationship with Him. Go ahead, turn in that winning lottery ticket that Jesus left you when He died on the cross for you. Every new day brings you, and me, closer to that moment when we will meet Him for our particular judgment. Now is the time to prepare for it. Now is the time to cash in your winning lottery ticket.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20).
13 thoughts on “Cash in Your Winning Lottery Ticket”
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Dear Dom,
Please forgive the lateness of my reply, I have been waiting for the system to give me a “reply” option to what you wrote in response to me but it hasn’t done so. Given that, I’m writing a new comment in the hope that you see it as part of our conversation.
Please read what I wrote the first time more carefully, because I emphasized that God’s SALVITIC love for us is not unconditional; and I pointed that out using two of your own phrases, “we must cooperate” and “follow His narrow way”. In doing that, I attempted to show, as John 14:21 quite clearly does, that if we want to get into Heaven then we can’t take God’s love for us unconditionally. To do otherwise is to deny the need for Baptism, repentance, and a living faith, all of which are clearly needed unless we’re the “good thief”.
Jesus says in John 14:21 that, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them”, which is CONDITIONAL love when it comes to our Heavenly abode with I Am or not. God’s love for us through Jesus that comes before that salvitic love, the love you referenced in Romans 5:8 and 1 John:9-10, is His love that we DO NOT MERIT, but that doesn’t make it unconditional.
The condition of Jesus’ sacrifice is our repentance, because that is the justice that mercy requires – repentance! God the Father gave His one and only Son so that we MIGHT be saved, and the conditions of that salvation through Jesus have already been expressed clearly in the Bible; and to some extent with what I’ve written.
The reason why the Lord has made me such a stickler on that point, unconditional love vs, unmerited love, is because words matter tremendously when it comes to our formation and fervency in the faith.
The word unconditional (wrongly) allows far too many professing Christians to think that their current sins aren’t important, and in effect don’t need to be taken seriously enough to repent from them, while the word unmerited rightly allows people to know that they did not and do not deserve God’s love and He doesn’t owe us anything; so we better get bust being Holy as our Father in Heaven is Holy – 1 Peter 1:16
We don’t merit the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, but we can show that it has been rightly received by the way we respond to it. We don’t work our way into Heaven apart from Christ, but we can certainly work our way out of it by not receiving Him rightly and pretending that our faith can exist without works of faith that model His ways of holiness.
Our works don’t merit Heaven, but they confirm the merit of Jesus who made us capable of such works with Him in the first place. So, without having His commands and keeping them, as John 14:21 states, neither Jesus nor His Father will love us (as sons and daughters – Matthew 12:50 and Luke 8:21).
It’s VERY important to note though, that confessing our sins to the Lord and each other is also part of “having His commands and keeping them”, since even a righteous man falls multiple times per day. In other words, we will never be without sin on this side of Heaven, but we must take out sins ever-more seriously with the Lord as we advance in discipleship and friendship with Him. We don’t remain stagnant or complacent in our sins without turning away from them and doing the faithful work of repentance with His grace!
So, again, repentance is a condition for our salvation, which is the purpose of God’s love for us, otherwise hELL would be empty!
In Christ,
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew. I think we’re closer to being on the same page than it might seem on the face of it. Had I re-ordered the mention of “unconditional” to precede the several paragraphs that talked about not everyone being saved, about the need to cooperate with God’s grace, etc., it would have been more clear. As well, a better definition of the term as it was used here, along the lines of what you’ve suggested would also have been helpful.
Bottom line: many are fallen away from God, living in sin. Without coming back, they won’t be saved. God wants them to come back, to repent, to open themselves up to salvation, to respond to His graces. The point of this piece is to encourage our brothers and sisters to do just that–to come back, repent, confess, get back to the sacraments, cooperate with grace and begin to live in a way that points them in the right direction–before it’s too late.
Thanks again–keep reading and dialoguing! – God bless you
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It seems cruel to think that all our non-Catholic loved ones, most of them very good people, are not going to heaven. Not to mention all those non baptized babies.
“It seems cruel to think that all our non-Catholic loved ones, most of them very good people, are not going to heaven.”
Check out CCC 838 – the Church doesn’t say that (and neither does this article).
“Not to mention all those non baptized babies.”
And, see CCC 1261 – your assumption doesn’t represent the Church’s position (and this article doesn’t speak to this point either).
I’m glad to hear that! It seemed to be the thrust of your post (“only Catholics can go to heaven! You’re Catholic! Grab that chance!”) but I was apparently wrong.
Along those lines I wonder (hypothetically) how long, if at all, God grieves when a soul slips
into hell ? Is it possible he still grieves for the fallen angels ?
Thanks for your question. The short answer would be, “no.” See Trent Horn’s coverage of God and emotions here: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/does-god-have-emotions
The Church can’t be so sure that God will follow what it tells us about Him.
Sorry to disappoint brother, because your post really had me being thankful for it until you choose to use that deceptive term of “unconditional” in relation to God’s love for us; especially after you rightly mentioned that we must cooperate (a condition) with God’s grace and follow His narrow way (another condition).
I can tell though that your heart and spirit are in the right place, so please read and reflect in John 14:21 (and surrounding) to unlearn God’s unconditional love and accept His conditional salvitic love.
Also, remember that we are only God’s adopted sons and daughters once we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior and allow Him and the Holy Spirit to realign us with Him and His goodness. Until then we are meerly part of His creation that He wants to become part of His family.
Jesus’ family are those who know the will of the Father and do it, which is not everyone who’s been created by Him.
In Christ, Andrew
Andrew – thanks for reading this post and for your comment. Actually, God does loves us unconditionally inasmuch as He loves us even in our sins.
As I read your comment, it seems that you are conflating the notion of His unconditional love for us with how we respond to Him in love. God loved us unconditionally when He sent His son to atone for our sins (cf. 1 Jn 4:9-10 and Rom 5:8). He didn’t say He’d send Jesus to die for our redemption IF we did something. He loves us when we refuse Him, when we fail, fall, sin and are far away from Him. He continues to offer His love for us.
On the other hand, how WE respond in love to His love is a different matter. How do we respond to him? How should we respond to him? Have we, at times, run away and ignored him, like the prodigal son?
Even if we have, there’s still hope for our salvation if we repent, for “God is waiting for us, like the father in the parable, with open arms, even though we don’t deserve. It doesn’t matter how great our debt is…” St. Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By, 64.
Thanks and again, and God bless you