One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, but one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. Luke 16:10

If you look up the word "commitment" in the dictionary, you will find a picture of 68-year-old Cha Sa-Soon of South Korea.

Well, that's not really true. Although Sa-Soon is committed, her picture won't be in the dictionary. Saying that it would be was a writer's exaggeration on my part.

Even so, Sa-Soon is dedicated. How dedicated is she? Well, here are the statistics:

· She has spent $4,200 on the application fees to pass her driver's test.

· She has been trying to pass the 50-question written test on road regulations and car maintenance since April 13th of 2005.

· She has had to take the written part of the test 950 times before she managed to get the 60 percent needed to pass. Now Sa-Soon only needs to pass the practical or driving part of the test, and she will have her license.

Can you imagine 950 tries at passing a test? Me, I would have given up long ago. But not Sa-Soon who says, "I believe you can achieve your goal if you persistently pursue it, so don't give up your dream. Be strong and do your best."

What a special lady! What grit! What pluck! What determination! I like the attitude Sa-Soon has.

Sadly, there are areas of our lives where a gritty attitude just doesn't work. There are things we can't achieve no matter how hard we work for them, no matter how long we stick to them, no matter how sincerely we believe or dream.

Need an example? Here's one: we are sinners and as sinners we are stuck in our nasty situation.

A person can dream of being able to get rid of this sin; he can work day and night to get rid of his sin; he can be persistent in pursuing a new, sin-free life and be dedicated to keeping things perfectly.

These are things a sinner can do, but that sinner is still going to fail. If we want to be saved, John shows us how in the third chapter of his Gospel. There it reads in verse 16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

That's it. We are saved by God's love and grace, not by what, or how hard, or how long, or how intensely we work and dream.

THE PRAYER: Dear Jesus, without Your sacrifice, I would be lost. My dreams, my work, my dedication would never have won my forgiveness or salvation. This, You have done and because You have made the sacrifice on Calvary's cross and defeated death with Your resurrection, I am saved. For all this, I give thanks. In Your Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Ezekiel 3-4    1 Timothy 3

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