Daily Devotional for January 2, 2023
Nailed to the Cross
“Okay, Dad!” Mateo exclaimed as he ran into the garage. “I’m ready to help with Rocco’s doghouse now.”
Mateo picked up a hammer and nail. He positioned the nail carefully and pounded it into the board. “Did you see that, Dad? I drove the nail in perfectly straight!” He stepped back to admire his work.
“Yes, that’s great,” said Dad. “You’ve gotten really good at this!”
Mateo smiled. “When I first started, I would hurry, and the nails would bend when they went in.”
“Yes, and look at you now!” said Dad.
Dad and Mateo continued to work on the doghouse. When it was finished, they lifted it off the workshop table and brought it out to the yard.
“Come on, Rocco,” called Mateo. “Come see your house!”
Rocco wagged his tail and let out a happy bark, running right into his new dwelling.
Dad smiled. “You know,” he said, “this project kind of reminds me of what Jesus did for us.”
“How so?” asked Mateo.
“Well,” said Dad, “the Bible says that because we are sinners, even the good things we do are like filthy rags. I guess you could say our good deeds are like bent nails.”
“Bent nails?” Mateo frowned. “I’m not sure I understand.”
Dad laughed. “You’re right. That wasn’t my clearest word picture. I guess what I’m saying is that bent nails weren’t good enough for this doghouse and, in a similar way, our good works aren’t good enough to save us. Nothing we could ever say or do can earn God’s love or make us right with Him. It all comes down to Jesus’s work on the cross.”
Dad picked up a hammer and nail. “Jesus was perfect, and He was nailed to the cross for our sins because we weren’t able to save ourselves from sin and death. That’s how much He loves us.”
Mateo nodded. “God really loves us a lot!”
“Yes,” said Dad. “As Christians, we know we belong to Jesus. And even though we know that our good deeds are a lot like a crudely constructed doghouse, we know His love for us is secure. We see that in His work on the cross. I hope we’ll both remember His love whenever we see this doghouse.”
-Darlene Anderson
How about you?
Do you know how much Jesus loves you? He loves us all so much that He came to die on the cross for our sin—the things we do that hurt God and others. As Christians, when we see wood and nails, they can be a reminder that God loves us and that Jesus beat sin and death through His death and resurrection. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.
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