Daily Devotional for December 17, 2017
Snowfest
“Mom, guess what?” said Peter. “My school is having a snow sculpture contest, and there are prizes! I’m going to make a polar bear.” He grinned. “That will be the perfect animal for this cold, snowy weather.”
Each day leading up to the contest, Peter practiced making bears. At the end of the week, a whole family of snow bears stood in front of the house.
“It’s a good thing the contest is tomorrow,” Mom said. “You’ve used up almost all the snow in the yard!”
The next day, the children started their sculptures. Peter worked hard, hoping to win the grand prize—a trip to Zehnder’s Snowfest in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
After he finished his bear, he and his mom walked around and looked at the other entries. When the judges announced Peter as the grand prize winner, he jumped up and down. “I knew my bear was best!” he told his mom.
A few weeks later, when Peter and Mom arrived in Frankenmuth, a snow sculpture contest was underway. Peter watched the contestants make huge, intricate sculptures. “After seeing these entries, my bear doesn’t seem so good,” he said.
“These contestants are professional,” said Mom. “It’s easy to feel humbled after seeing their work.”
“That’s for sure.” Peter stopped to look at a sculpture of a huge polar bear. He felt like he could pick out each carefully defined tuft of fur. “This looks nothing like my polar bear. There’s just no comparison!”
Mom smiled. “It reminds me of a time I was humbled. I used to compare my life to the lives of others. Sometimes I thought I was pretty good, and sometimes I didn’t—it all depended on how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ I thought someone else was. Until I read the Bible, I thought God judged people the same way. But He has a higher standard—and none of us can live up to it, no matter how hard we try. There’s only one way to be good enough for Him.”
“I know what it is!” said Peter. “Jesus!”
“Right,” said Mom. “Jesus is God’s perfect standard, and when we know Him, He gives us His goodness. He makes us good in God’s eyes.” – David J. Belleau
How about you?
Do you compare yourself to other people to see how good you are? What about Jesus—have you ever compared yourself to Him? He’s God’s perfect standard, and compared to Him, we’re all sinners in need of forgiveness. The only way to be good in God’s eyes is for Jesus to remove your sin and be good for you. Do you trust Him as your Savior? If not, do it today! (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)
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