Read: Isaiah 64:4-6

“Mom, guess what?” said James. “My school is having a snow sculpture contest, and there are prizes!”

“What are you going to make?” Mom asked.

“A polar bear.” James grinned. “That will be the perfect animal for this cold, snowy weather.”

Each day leading up to the contest, James 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. James worked hard, hoping to win the grand prize—a trip to Zehnder’s Snowfest in Frankenmuth, Michigan.

After he finished his bear, James and his mom walked around and looked at the other entries. When the judges announced James 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 James and Mom arrived in Frankenmuth, a snow sculpture contest was underway. James watched the contestants make huge, intricate sculptures. “After seeing these entries, my bear doesn’t seem so good.”

“These contestants are professional,” said Mom. “It’s easy to feel humbled after seeing their work.”

“That’s for sure.” James stopped to look at a sculpture of a huge polar bear. It was so lifelike, it almost looked real. “This looks nothing like my polar bear. There’s just no comparison!”

Mom smiled. “It reminds me of how I used to compare myself to 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 James. “We need to trust in Jesus.”

“Right,” said Mom. “Jesus is the only one who meets God’s perfect standard, and He died to pay for our sins. When we trust in Him, 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 give you His goodness. Trust Him as your Savior today. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Jesus makes us good