by Oran Burt www.somersavenue.org

We can be reasonably sure that the image of Jesus is tarnished beyond recognition in most people, but we would hope not beyond recovery. God loves us and wants to save us. Most of us have deep sensitivities concerning our sins, failures, and inadequacies. We never feel totally worthy of being saved.

Jules Pfeifer wrote: "I felt like a fraud so I learned to fly an airplane. At 50,000 feet I thought, 'A fraud is flying an airplane.' So I crossed the Atlantic in a rowboat. I docked at Cherbourg and I thought, 'A fraud has crossed the Atlantic in a rowboat.' So, I took a space shot to the moon. On the way home, I thought, 'A fraud has circled the moon.' So, I took out a full-page ad in the newspaper. And I confessed to the world that I was a fraud. I read the ad and thought, 'A fraud is pretending to be honest.'"

Can you identify with that feeling?

In one of Ruth Calkin’s books, she writes this prayer: "Father, I have sinned and I’m not worthy to be called your child." And the answer came back; "I know, but my Son is worthy to be called your Savior."

How can we BE more like Jesus without doing the things that He did? But even in our doing, we cannot secure our salvation by works. In the song, "Rock of Ages," it is expressed, "Not the labor of my hands, can fulfill the law's demands."

So, our faith is dead without works, but our hope is not in our deeds alone. Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.