Daily Devotional for September 26, 2019
Not That Good
As Luke and his dad watched a basketball game on TV, they shouted and
cheered. Luke jumped up and down when his favorite player made one basket after another. “I think that guy is the best player ever!” Luke declared when the game ended.
The next day, Luke challenged Dad to see who could make the most baskets in the hoop over the garage. They made up a game with just the two of them, and each made several of their shots. “Hey,” said Dad when they took a break, “your hero would have made that last basket! Why didn’t you make it?”
“Very funny, Dad,” said Luke. “I was too far away from it. I’m doing my best, but he’s a pro—he’s been playing for years. Besides, I couldn’t be that good in a hundred years!”
“Really? You don’t think so?” asked Dad.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Luke. “I like basketball, but I’m not the best at it. No way I’ll ever be anywhere near that good!”
Dad smiled. “Do you know the Bible says something like that?” he asked. “That trying hard to be good doesn’t make us good enough?”
“Good enough for what?” Luke grinned. “You mean the Bible says I’m not good enough to play professional basketball?”
Dad laughed. “You know that’s not what I was saying, but how about answering your own question. What does the Bible say you’re not good enough for?”
“For heaven,” said Luke. “It says nobody can get to heaven by doing good. I learned a Bible verse at church that says all the stuff we do to try to make ourselves good is like dirty old rags.”
Dad nodded. “We may think we’re pretty good, but we’re all sinners, and the things we consider to be good fail to meet God’s standard—they’re not that good. But the good news is that when we trust in Jesus, He gives us His righteousness—His goodness—and makes us fit to spend eternity with Him in heaven.”
Luke took another shot at the hoop and missed. “I’m not good enough for professional basketball, and I’m sure not good enough for heaven. But I’m glad Jesus makes me fit for heaven anyway.” Bill K. O’Connor
How about you?
Do you hope to be good enough to please God and earn your way to heaven? You may do a lot of things people consider to be good, but God sees them as “filthy rags.” Only Jesus lived a perfect life. The only way you can live up to God’s standard is to trust in Jesus and receive His righteousness. Then you will be fit for heaven. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)
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