In 1913, Cracker Jack put prizes in their boxes for the first time.

Don’t you just love surprises? Good ones, that is. A card with cash from your aunt . . . a visit from an old friend . . . a good grade on a test when you thought you hadn’t done very well . . . the chocolate center in a piece of candy . . . a random act of kindness.

The makers of Cracker Jack knew that, so way back in 1913 they put prizes in their boxes to help sell their caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts snack. It worked! Kids (parents too) liked the snack, but they loved the surprise prize. Since then, people think “prize” and “surprise” when they hear “Cracker Jack.” Even today, the bag proclaims, “Prize inside! Whad’ya get? There are new surprises waiting for you. So open a bag and enjoy.”

“Surprise” is a good word to associate with Jesus, too. He was constantly saying and doing things that were unusual and unexpected. People thought they had him figured out, and then he would say something like, “The first will be last and the last first,” or “The least in this world will be the greatest in my kingdom.” And in today’s verse, he proclaimed that he had come to “give life in all its fullness.” Another translation of this verse says that Jesus came to give life “more abundantly.” “Fullness” and “abundantly” are like having a bucket that is totally full and overflowing. So abundant life is having extra life, life “overflowing,” like getting a surprise prize in the box.

Today, many people think they know all about Jesus. They think following him is just religion. In fact, it’s totally different because it’s “life overflowing.” Think of the life Christ offers as “life with a prize inside!”

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10).

To Do

Buy a few bags of Cracker Jack. Give them to friends and say, “Jesus is like a Cracker Jack bag—he gives life with a prize inside. Open a bag and enjoy.”

Also on this day . . .

1473—Nicolas Copernicus was born.

1878—Thomas Edison patented the phonograph.

1985—The Coca-Cola Company introduced Cherry Coke.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.