READ: PSALM 51:7; ISAIAH 1:18; EPHESIANS 2:1-9; REVELATION 19:6-9

I squinted up at the castle as I waited for admittance to the feast. The King had to test all who came through, to see if they were worthy of acceptance. I was sure that I could get in; I hadn’t done many bad things in my life. I’d never murdered anyone. In fact, I’d done quite a lot of good things. I’d also saved up for a new outfit, one that was much better than my old work clothes. Surely the King would let me pass. I smoothed the front of my shirt. It was white, beautiful, and expensive. It’d cost me almost a year’s wages.

As the line moved, I watched up ahead. The King—the King himself—stood at the entrance, and as one man stepped forward, the King bent down and said something to him. The man said something back, and the King shook His head. The man was dragged away.

My heart began to pound as my turn approached. I was good enough…wasn’t I? My clothes, all my work—surely they had to amount to something. But I knew, even as I stepped forward for my turn, that it was hopeless. I realized now that it wasn’t enough. My clothes looked like dirty rags next to the King’s. And my good works weren’t enough to cover the bad things I had done, no matter how small I’d thought they were before.

I have disobeyed the law. I cannot pass the test. I knelt before the King, my hope draining away. I didn’t deserve admittance. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into the face of the King. “You are not worthy,” He said gently, “But if you receive my gift, I will give you admission.”

I blinked. “But—how can that be?”

The King smiled gently. “I am worthy, and I paid the price for your acceptance. You must simply take the gift. Do you want it?”

“Yes, I do, my King.” He pulled me to my feet, and I looked down. My robes were white as snow. With joy in my heart, I walked through the entrance. I was accepted. • Macy W.

• Like in today’s allegorical story, we can never do enough to earn acceptance into God’s eternal kingdom. But God has made the way for us to be forgiven and live in close relationship with Him forever through Jesus’s death and resurrection. Yet, even after we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we sin every day. And every day, our acceptance is based on Jesus’s worthiness, not our own. How does this truth reveal Jesus’s patient, faithful love? (If you want to know more, see our "Know Jesus" page.)

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)