Jesus: Savior and Giant Killer

Back in our elementary school days, my brother received a BB gun for Christmas. We immediately set up a firing range in the backyard and spent the afternoon shooting at an archery target. Growing bored with the ease of hitting the circle, my brother sent me to fetch a hand mirror. He placed the gun backward on his shoulder, spotted the archery bull's-eye in the mirror, and did his best Buffalo Bill imitation. But he missed the target. He also missed the storehouse behind the target and the fence behind the storehouse. We had no idea where the BB pellet flew. Our neighbor across the alley knew, however. He soon appeared at the back fence, asking who had shot the BB gun and who was going to pay for his sliding glass door.

At this point I disowned my brother. I changed my last name and claimed to be a holiday visitor from Canada. My father was more noble than I. Hearing the noise, he appeared in the backyard, freshly rousted from his Christmas Day nap, and talked with the neighbor.

Among his words were these: "Yes, they are my children." ... "Yes, I'll pay for their mistakes."

Christ says the same about you. He knows you miss the target. He knows you can't pay for your mistakes. But he can. "God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins" (Rom. 3:25 NLT).

Since he was sinless, he could.

Since he loves you, he did. "This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 4:10 NLT).

He became one of us to redeem all of us. "Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters" (Heb. 2:11 NCV).

He wasn't ashamed of David. He isn't ashamed of you. He calls you brother; he calls you sister. The question is, do you call him Savior?

Take a moment to answer this question. Perhaps you never have. Perhaps you never knew how much Christ loves you. Now you do. Jesus didn't disown David. He won't disown you. He simply awaits your invitation. One word from you and God will do again what he did with David and millions like him: he'll claim you, save you, and use you. Any words will do, but these seem appropriate:

Jesus, my Savior and Giant-killer, I ask for mercy, strength, and eternal life. I trust you with my heart and give you my life. Amen.

Pray such words with an honest heart, and be assured of this: your greatest Goliath has fallen. Your failures are flushed and death defanged. The power that made pygmies out of David's giants has done the same with yours.

You can face your giants. Why? Because you faced God first.