He alone can do it!

Early tomorrow our granddaughter is flying from here to San Francisco, then to South Korea where she will be teaching English to elementary and middle-school children. For those who know the story, this is an astounding change in her life.

She came to live with us two years ago. She was unable to take care of herself and had no sense of direction or hope. Our desire for her is that she knows and follows Jesus. While that has not yet happened, God has done some wonderful things in her life.

Now, as she goes to the ends of the earth, our hearts and prayers go with her. She goes to a place that is not devoid of Christian witnesses. Perhaps she will meet good people who will be a blessing to her. Certainly her life will change because of this experience.

At one point, she has said what others say, that lots of people get along just fine without God. Some even think that Christianity is the religion of white Caucasians only. However, there are countries all over the world where faith in Jesus is far more common than in North America. The church grows rapidly in the far east, and the largest churches in the world are in South Korea. These churches even send out more missionaries than the churches here. They know that everyone needs the Lord.

This morning’s devotional reading is based on Isaiah 45:22, “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.”

As I read that, I thought that it makes no difference where a person lives, or what color their skin; everyone needs to be saved. The Bible says that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Some might be better in the eyes of the world than others, or more moral, or less selfish, but no one measures up to the standard demonstrated in the person and life of Jesus Christ. We all fall short of that lofty target.

Jesus said that those who come to Him will be saved. Simply put, that means He will pick us up from where we have fallen short, and carry us to where we need to be. He forgives our sin, gives us Himself and His righteousness, and becomes our loving Guide and Best Friend.

There isn’t a person alive without sin. While they may be happy, healthy and doing well in this life, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). We cannot get there by our own efforts, no matter how good they might be.

The one who claims to be truth also invites “the ends of the earth” to look to Him and be saved. Christianity is not for a few, but for everyone. All have sinned, all need salvation, and this salvation is in God the Son who died for our sins.

We don’t know if the Lord will answer our prayers for our granddaughter in this faraway place. He could. Away from home, family and familiar, she may feel a need for Him there that she denies here. She may meet people so sweetly filled with the Spirit that she cannot resist His call. Whatever happens, we are trusting the only One who can do it.

Who else can we rely on? Who else can change lives and bring peace out of chaos? He has already done so much in her life, whether she realizes it or not. We continue to look to Him to finish His work of grace and save her. Only He can do it, here or at the ends of the earth, for there is no other.