NOVEMBER 26, Romans 4:7, 22-25; Isaiah 61:10

“We’re collecting our school pictures tomorrow!” exclaimed Andrea one evening. “I hope mine turned out good.” “Well, how good can they be?” teased her brother Matthew. “After all, the camera can only take a picture of what it sees.” He ducked just as Andrea threw a small pillow at him.

After school the next day, Andrea came slowly into the house. “My pictures are so awful,” she wailed when she saw her mother. “I fell on my bike a couple of weeks before they were taken, remember? I got that bump on my forehead – and skinned my nose, of all things! I sure didn’t think the scratches would show in the pictures, but guess what! They do!” In disgust, she threw the envelope of pictures down on the table.

“Why did you think they wouldn’t show?” asked Mother.

“I covered them with some powder Miss Yeo gave me,” said Andrea, “and besides, Cheryl said they wouldn’t show. Her sister, Dana, had a cold sore when her graduation pictures were taken, but it didn’t show up on the pictures.” Andrea paused and then added, “Cheryl said Dana was afraid her hair was going to look bad, too, but in her pictures every hair was perfectly in place. Look how my hair sticks out!”

Mother smiled. “Well,” she said, “I’m sure Dana’s pictures were taken at a photographer’s studio, and the finished pictures were touched up by the photographer. That means that all the little blemishes – such as spots on the face or hairs out of place – were removed or covered over.”

That evening, Dad also heard Andrea’s complaints. “So you think your picture needs a little touching up?” he asked. Matt laughed. “Like I told her, the camera just shows what’s there,” he said. “You can’t fool it.”

Dad smiled. “This reminds me of people who try to cover up their sins,” he said, “but no matter how good they’ve made themselves look, God’s ‘camera’ shows just what’s there – a heart full of sin.”

“And only God can cover our sins,” said Mother. “He does that for us when we accept Jesus as Saviour. We are imputed with the righteousness of Christ.”

Thought: Have your sins been covered by God?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know there is no way I can cover up or remove sin myself – no matter how good I try to be to make up for my wrongdoings. Thank You for sending the Lord Jesus to die for my sins. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.