Good morning, everyone.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
It’s not a great leap for some to take the story of Jesus, His humble beginnings, the ministry filled with rejection, the rabble that He associated with, the torturous ending, and the glorious resurrection, and liken it to The Ugly Duckling fairy tale by the great Hans Christian Andersen. In that tale, a little bird is mistreated by all he encounters, beginning with his own family, the other animals on the farm, and then all those to and from which he ran. Eventually, he spends most of his first winter alone in a cave. But when spring arrives, he emerges and discovers in his reflection in the lake that he is actually a gorgeous swan and flies off with a flock of swans who welcome and accept him. Churches of every make and discipline are filled with people who profess to be Christians, but in their hearts and by their actions, they treat the Savior as little more than a great success story. They willingly associate with Jesus, but His life, sacrifice, victory over death, and message of complete surrender and endless grace has not transformed their lives. At best, it has touched their hearts and eased their guilty consciences. But as Peter explains God’s mighty display poured out on the lame man, he pulls no punches in professing that Jesus is not only much more than a story of triumph, He is the one and only, single solitary means by which any person can be saved from his disastrous destiny.
He begins by clearing up the misconception that he had anything to do with the healing, attesting that the risen Jesus is responsible for giving the man back his legs. Then, Peter says that Jesus was the stone rejected by the builders, the man sent to the Jews, who was despised but then turned out to be the Savior they looked for. And finally, He says that above all else, though little more need be said, Jesus is the only one who can save our sorry, helpless, self-serving, do it our way, selves. You and your name may be as insignificant as an ugly duckling, or as glorious and celebrated as a lovely swan, but that matters none when it comes to salvation. It’s Jesus and Jesus alone. Nothing else counts, and anything else added will leave you out. May your life be as pure and simple as that.
As we seek Him today, gather up all your trust and make sure that it’s placed in the one basket of Jesus Christ. And be sure there’s nothing else in there that doesn’t belong.
Have a marvelous weekend.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
