And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I myself. Touch Me, and see." Luke 24:38-39

UPS (the United Parcel Service) is a big company.

You can get an idea of just how big the UPS is when I tell you it has over 102,000 drivers on the road. That's a lot of drivers covering a lot of miles. Not surprisingly, it also means, as a group, the UPS drivers are involved in a fair number of accidents.

But not Ginny Odom. She is accident free.

That's right. Odom has never had an accident, which is no small deal. You see, she has been employed by UPS for over 40 years. During these 40 years she has managed to cover more than four million miles ... and she has driven those miles without ever having had a fender-bender. That fact puts Odom in a pretty exclusive club. You see, of those 100,000 drivers employed by UPS only 41 others can say they have also driven four million monster miles and never had calamity or catastrophe.

No doubt many of you who are reading this devotion are saying, "You know, I have to give thanks to the Lord. I've been driving a lot of years, and I've never had an accident or a ticket."

If you are in that category, congratulations!

But this devotion really isn't about driving; it's about perfection. I don't want to know how many of you have a perfect driving record; I want to know how many of you are perfect.

That's right. Let's see the hands of all of you who always honored your father and mother; who never hated anyone; who respected other people's property and never spoke badly about others. Let's see the hands of those who have never been envious of someone and who have always kept the Lord first in their thoughts, their worship, and their words.

From what I can see, there is only one hand up. Yes, Adam and Eve did have their hands up for an instant, but then they remembered that while they had started perfectly, they had -- like the rest of us -- managed to mess up.

No, there is only one hand in the air, and it belongs to Jesus, the Son of God and our Savior.

They say a man's hands say a lot about Him, and I suppose that is true for Jesus. Look carefully and you will see that they are strong enough to wield a whip and clear the temple of those who had befouled God's temple. But there's more. Jesus' hands are also gentle enough to touch a leper or pick up little children and bless them.

Of course, looking at Jesus' hands, you cannot escape noticing the tears made by the nails, which once held Him to a Roman cross. Those wounds were suffered as God's perfect Son died to win forgiveness and salvation for sinful humanity. Now, in resurrection victory, those hands invite everyone to repent, believe, be baptized, be saved.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, You have done what no mere man or woman could do. You have lived a perfect life, carried our sins to the cross, and died. More than that, for us You have conquered hell and grave. May I give thanks for the salvation You alone have won. In Your Name I pray. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Daniel 8-10    Philemon

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