Both carpenters and furniture makers work with wood—but there’s a big difference between framing a house and getting a drawer to fit a dresser.
It comes down to how you measure. When I have framed a room or a shed, I was content with measures like 16 inches or 12¼ inches. I recently built a dresser for a friend, and I measured in 32nds of an inch. For a tight fit, precision matters.
You’ll discover how important a precise fit is if you ever make a picture frame. Frames come together in the corners at 45-degree angles. So you simply cut at 45 degrees, right? Sure, but you’d better make sure you’re cutting a 45-degree angle—and not 44.9 or 45.1. Putting two boards together with the angle off by even a tenth of a degree goes unnoticed, but when you put all four sides of the frame together, it adds up to a noticeable gap!
Tiny errors are still errors. I’ve only got one standard for creating frames: 45.0-degree angles.
Most of us go through life sort of “winging it” on the standards we live by.
- “This feels right.”
- “This feels good.”
- “I’m not perfect, but I’m not as bad as …”
But God has a different standard. An absolute standard. A perfect standard. He gave us that standard in the Bible, and He expects us to follow it.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).
Uh-oh. As much as I value precision, I cannot measure up to the precision of God. Thankfully, Jesus stepped in and lived that standard for me. He lived the perfect life I should have, died the death I deserve, and rose again to give me a new—and perfect!—life in Him.
Now I am able to live according to the standard He set in His Word because of the power and presence of His Holy Spirit in my life. I still falter, but He loves, forgives, and restores. He keeps me surrounded by His grace and power.
God has given us His Word to follow, and when we follow it, we experience a full and rich life.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
And He has given us His Spirit to empower us to live according to His Word.
“Walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
I’m glad God has given us the standard by which to measure our lives—and the power to live according to that standard.
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This post supports the study “Why We Need God’s Word” in Bible Studies for Life and YOU.
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