Daily Devotional for March 11, 2017
One Hundred Percent
Laura sat up in bed with maths papers strewn all over the place. “Six eights are forty-eight, seven eights are fifty-six, eight eights are—”
Just then, Mum walked in. “Sixty-four!” Mum glanced at her watch. “Are you still studying, Laura? It’s late. You should be asleep!”
Laura sighed. “I know. I’m just so nervous about my test tomorrow. What if I fail? I’m so hopeless at maths!” Anxious tears welled up in Laura’s eyes. “I don’t want to let Mr. Finch down—or you and Dad.”
Mum sighed and pulled Laura close. “Let us down? No way! You’ve worked so hard for this test. Pass or fail, you’ve done your best and that’s good enough for us.”
Laura smiled. She felt a bit better after hearing Mum’s reassuring words. “Why do we have to take tests, anyway?” she moaned.
“Hmm,” said Mum. “Good question. I suppose tests are just a way of measuring how much we’ve learnt—or how far we’ve come. And they show us any areas where we need to grow or improve.”
“It doesn’t sound that bad when you put it like that,” Laura said.
“Life is full of all kinds of tests,” said Mum. “The most important thing is not whether we pass or fail, but whether we’re willing to persevere and grow.”
Laura nodded. “God helps us grow, doesn’t He?”
“He certainly does” replied Mum. “And you know, the greatest thing of all is that we can come to God just as we are. He doesn’t require us to meet a certain standard or reach a certain mark before we come to Him, because Jesus has already reached the mark for us!”
“When He died on the cross?” asked Laura.
“Exactly,” said Mum. “When Jesus died, He met God’s holy standard for us. He was the only one who was able to make the grade—the only sinless person who ever lived!”
Laura grinned. “He took the test so we don’t have to!”
“Yep!” said Mum. “And guess what? He passed it—one hundred percent!” – Angela Jelf
How about you?
Have you ever taken an important test or exam? Were you nervous about whether you’d pass or fail? The Bible tells us that when it comes to God’s holy standards, none of us could ever met the mark—apart from one person. Jesus! He lived a perfect, sinless life and then took away our sins by dying on the cross. And He gives His righteousness as a gift to anyone who asks! (See the ABCs of Salvation in the column to the right.)
Thank you for reading this Keys for Kids devotional! Did you enjoy the story? Has Keys for Kids been an encouragement to you and your family? If so, would you please consider supporting Keys For Kids Ministries in our effort to continue to provide these daily devotionals to children around the world?