In part one of "The Measuring Stick," I talked about how we become conscious of our sin by observing God's laws. These laws are not set in place to make us righteous and to help us obtain our membership card for God's goodie-tooshoo's club, but rather they are a confirmation of our relationship with Him and they hold us to a higher standard of living.
In part two, "Exposed," I want to focus on the result of living with this higher standard. By measuring your life with Christ Jesus as your standard, your measuring stick, you will be able to live the life He has called you to live. When you measure your life against the measuring stick of culture, you will always fall short of leaving your mark on this world. In fact, following culture could lead to a life of sin, and this sinful lifestyle will make you fearful of being "exposed"
Take a look at John 3:19-21 (NIV)
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
You know what rats do when you turn the light on in a room? They scamper, they high tail it out of the room as quickly as possible for the fear of being exposed. That is what happens to us when we don't hold ourselves accountable to living as Christ and reflecting The Image of God. We become rats and fall into sin because we say, "Everyone else is doing it." Or we rationalize and think that the only way to get ahead in business is to cheat, the only way to become popular is to have sex and get drunk on the weekends. When this happens, we hate the light, and will not come into the light for fear that our deeds will be exposed.
Follow Christ and His Teachings, allow Him to be your measuring stick and constantly compare your life with His. By doing so you will be able to live the life that honors God and you will be able to give Him the Glory that He is due...Welcome the light and Glorify God!
21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
