It was years ago, and I was a real football fan! That summer I’d been in charge of a threshing crew near Glendive, Montana, and I’d been able to save over $500. That was a lot in those days; it would be enough to take me all the way to Pasadena, California, for the Rose Bowl game, and I was itching to be on my way.
After a few stops here and there, I arrived at Seattle and decided to go the rest of the way by boat, so I bought a ticket to San Francisco, since that was where the boat was going to stop.
I got so sick on that boat that I thought I was going to die. I got to the point that I was so sick I wanted to die. So I decided I’d better get off when the boat docked at Coos Bay, Oregon. I bought a train ticket from there to San Francisco.
San Francisco was interesting. I looked around for a day or two and then bought my train ticket to Los Angeles.
I was hotfootin’ it down the street to the train station with my luggage when a big, burly policeman stopped me. He thought I was some kind of a crook. Wait! Let me change that a bit—the Lord stopped me. When that policeman finished going through my suitcase and let me go, I’d missed my train. There was no way I’d get to Los Angeles now in time for that game!
I did finally get to Los Angeles-after the game was all over. There was a little park there close to the station. I sat down on a bench; I was kind of grouchy and wondering what I should do. I felt in my pocket, and there was a tract in there that I’d picked up while I was on the train. I read it over and found it pretty interesting, so I just prayed to Jesus and asked Him to show me where He wanted me to go.
I felt sort of restless, so I went for a short walk. I found myself at the corner of 6th and Main, listening to some gospel preachers. I listened for about an hour.
When they were finished preaching, one of the men came over to me and asked if I was saved. I said, “No.” So he asked me if I would like to be saved. I said, “Yes.” We talked for a little while, and I accepted Jesus as my Savior right there on the street.
One of the men took me home for supper, and I went to a gospel meeting with him. After the meeting was over, I was invited to another man’s house. He rented me a room, and I stayed there for quite a while doing carpentry work and repairing things for him.
I’m not one bit sorry I missed that Rose Bowl game-no, not one tiny bit! What I found instead is so much better that there’s no comparison! And it lasts for all eternity! You can have it and enjoy it, too. It costs nothing, because Jesus paid the price for my sins when He suffered and died on the cross. He set me free from my sins when I accepted Him as my very own Savior. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:3636If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)).
Would you like to meet Jesus and have Him set you free? “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).