Daily Devotional for November 21, 2023
Too Short
“I do it!” said Isla insistently. Her balloon was stuck up on a shelf, and her mother had offered to help her get it down. Isla was two, and she liked to do things all by herself.
“All right, you do it,” said Mom as Madeline came into the room. “How was school, Maddy?”
“Okay,” said Madeline. “But I don’t seem to be making any headway with Kenna.” She sighed and set down her backpack. “Ever since she went to church with me a few weeks ago, she’s had questions about Jesus. I tried to explain it to her today, but she still seems to think she can be saved because her parents taught her good morals and she hasn’t lived a bad life.” Madeline glanced down at Isla, who was dragging a kiddie chair across the room. “What’s she doing?”
“She was bopping her balloon in the air and it got caught on the top shelf. She’s trying very hard to get it down. I was going to help her, but she told me very firmly, ‘I do it.’”
Madeline grinned. “That sounds like her, but she’ll never be able to reach it.”
They watched as Isla found a fairy wand in her toy box. She stood on the chair and reached with the wand, but she couldn’t dislodge the balloon. After trying several times, she turned to her mother in defeat. “You do it,” she said mournfully.
With a smile, Mom reached up, took down the balloon, and handed it to her little daughter, who contentedly ran off with her prize.
“Isla just gave me an idea that might help you with Kenna,” said Mom. “Tomorrow, you could tell her about Isla’s struggle to get the balloon by herself. Explain that just like Isla was too short to reach it—even with all her creative efforts—each of us falls short of God’s glory and goodness, regardless of how good we think we may be. We’ve all sinned by doing wrong things. Just like Isla had to admit she couldn’t get her balloon by herself, we need to admit that we can’t save ourselves. The only one who can save us from sin is Jesus Christ.”
Madeline nodded. “Good idea, Mom!”
– Shawna Arthurs
How about you?
Have you admitted that you can’t save yourself from sin? Or do you think just being good is enough? Like everyone else, you are a sinner, and all your good deeds fall short of what’s required for you to have eternal life with God. But God sent His perfect Son, Jesus, to die for your sin so that you could be saved. You can only have eternal life by trusting in Him. (To learn more, click the “Good News!” button in the right column of this page.)
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