First Prize

His small son returned from kindergarten, ran to his arms and said, “Daddy, I won a prize today!”

“That’s wonderful,” said the dad. “What was the prize for?”

“We had to guess how many legs an elephant has,” said the boy, “and I said five!”

“Five?” exclaimed the father.

“Yeah,” was the response. “I came the closest. Someone else said six.”

There are some who believe that salvation is a result of how close they come to obeying the Ten Commandments. Others think that if they work hard at fulfilling the teaching of the Beatitudes they will earn their salvation. Many believe that they will inherit eternal life as a result of doing good deeds. There are those who trust in church membership to save them. Some are hoping that they will find themselves in heaven because of their family tree.

Unfortunately, none of those will result in the new birth – God’s salvation.

Scripture informs us that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Salvation comes only by trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is as the Apostle Paul said, “God saved you by His special favor, His grace, when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this since it is a gift from God.”

Prayer: Father, we confess that we have sinned and need to be saved if we want eternal life. Only in You is forgiveness and salvation. We ask You to become our Savior and free us from the grip of sin. Through Christ. Amen.

Scripture for Today: Romans 3:23